Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War
by Michael Mario
Summary: A new world has been created from the ashes of World B; composed of the very worlds the champions of gods had come from. With Chaos back with a vengence and his Warriors of Chaos with him, can the Warriors of Cosmos- remembering next to nothing of each other- band together once more to combat the forces of evil that threaten their new world?
1. A Cosmic Beginning

**Neo Dissidia Final Fantasy: New World, New War**

**Chapter 1: A Cosmic Beginning**

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**Author's Note: I can't express how happy I am now that I am finally starting this thing! I've had the ideas flooding through my head for years and now it's finally here. I want to thank many of my new peers for giving me the inspiration I needed through their work!**

**With that out of the way, lets begin!**

**Edited: 12/1/2012**

* * *

After the Conflict of the Gods had ended, Cosmos had chosen to reign in World B until its inevitable collapse.

However, she clearly hadn't thought about what that meant very clearly.

Ever since the first Cycle, the only actual residents still left were Moogles, and weren't exactly the best conversationalists.

Thus, Cosmos had spent most of World B's remaining days trying to stave off her boredom...

To limited success.

"_1,000,000 bottles of beer on the wall, 1,000,000 bottles of beeeeeeeeer. Take one down; pass it around, 999,999 bottles of beer on the wall._"

* * *

Much later…

"Ku-kupo!"

Cosmos sighed. She and this Moogle had been playing thousands of rounds Tic-Tac-Toe for what felt like forever now, their games marking every inch of the Earth.

And the Moogle had beaten her every time.

'_Me-damnit! Why can I never beat this bastard Moogle?'_ Cosmos glared at it as it flew off happily with the millions of KP it won off her. _'Look at him. Thinks he's so smart because he always goes for the…center…after…I…go, Goddamnit! So much for infinite wisdom.'_ Cosmos sighed. _'I guess that's what happens when it goes largely unused for what feels like centuries.'_

Time in World B was incredibly warped and twisted beyond measure. It was like it barely existed at all. This would have made it hard to tell when the world would sink into the Rift had Cosmos not been connected to the land itself.

And she could tell it was coming soon. Something Cosmos was actually excited about this after the years of boredom she's had to endure.

* * *

Much LONGER later…

The time had come. World B was now finally sinking into the Rift. Cosmos sent off the Moogles to other realms and awaited her demise.

'_I guess this is the end.'_ Cosmos sighed, a solemn look in her eyes. All around her the Earth was falling into the seas of the Void. Only a small stretch of land was left in this forsaken world.

"My warriors, I wish you well. I truly hope that someday, we may meet again, in the afterworld…"

Despite the fact that her warriors were essentially lambs for Chaos's slaughter, she still thought of them as family and was sad when they had to leave. But she knew it had to be done, and wanted them to be happy in their own worlds.

"Especially you..."

After those last words, she closed her eyes as nothingness consumed her.

* * *

When she next opened them, Cosmos found herself in empty black space, unable to even see herself in it.

Darkness

Utter darkness

Pure Nothingness

It was within this void Cosmos reflected on her life thus far...

* * *

"_Professors Cid and Harmonia, I am happy to inform you that the specimen is complete."_

_Cid and his wife, Harmonia, stared at me in fascination as I took my first breath. I will always remember the looks on their faces. I was in my test tube, staring blankly at them while I floated in a strange kind of liquid._

_Cid looked at me with a look of satisfaction in his eyes. With his wife's memories, he had finally succeeded in creating a perfect replica of a living thing- a perfect Manikin._

_His wife, however, seemed very uncomfortable at the sight of me- understandable, since I was a perfect Manikin of _her_._

_Cid was a man who strongly resembled my Warrior, which isn't surprising because my hero is an almost-perfect Manikin of the professor. He had the same bluish silver hair, basic build, and well-tanned skin. The differences between them were that Cid was older, had a lankier- less combat worthy build, and had a thin beard. Cid generally wore a plain white lab coat over a bluish-grey robe. _

_Harmonia, as I said before, looked exactly like me in every way- except for clothing. She also wore a lab coat and wore it over a pale green dress). _

_Both she and Cid also wore a silver necklace with a half of a golden heart attached to it that created a single whole when put together. These were essentially the Lufenian equivalent to wedding rings._

_There was another scientist in the room, but he was so pointless to events that would come forth that I can't even remember what he looked like- not that I cared very much._

_Manikins are creatures made from a special crystal ore capable of growing as a living creature. Though they could take the shape of other beings when approached, they we mindless puppets. Thus, Cid and Harmonia were brought in to try to give them a sense of self by infusing them with memories. However, almost all subjects failed, the only change being that they permanently took the shape of the subjects memory from which they were derived._

_However, there were ultimately two successful subjects. The first was, believe it or not, the future God of Discord, Chaos. He was made by infusing a Manikin with the memories of ten different people. The result was a monstrous being that acted like, and was the size of, a small child._

_But the researchers weren't satisfied with stopping at him, though his great power would lead to Chaos being used as a tool of war in the future, which I would later have a part of._

_That is not something I am proud of, believe me._

_After Chaos was left in their care, Cid and Harmonia continued to experiment with the Manikins. It eventually became clear that only a subject with an unclouded mind could complete a full memory transplant with a Manikin. Harmonia, being such a individual, reluctantly offered to have her own memories infused._

_The result was…me._

"_Wonderful! What have you named her?" Cid asked, unaware of his wife's discomfort._

"_She has been given the name Cosmos, a name signifying order. Fitting since it has the power of harmony, the opposite of the monster's power of discord."_

_Harmonia turned her gaze from me to glare at the man, "I would prefer it if you didn't insult my son, thank you very much." _

_The scientist ignored her, "She should gain a consciousness soon. Wait…" He looked up at my test tube and noticed I had been following their conversation, "Amazing! She has surpassed one of expectations already!" He turned back towards the couple, who had also turned their attention back towards me. "You two have out done yourselves! Think of the possibilities this opens up! True, synthetic life…or rather, a true replica of a human being."_

_As he said these words, several memories started rushing through my head and with them a splitting headache. So many memories, but none of them my own. Pain filled my expression as I shut my eyes closed, trying anything to stop the pain. _

_Nothing worked._

_Then I started screaming._

"_P-p-professors! What's happening to Project Cosmos?!" the other scientist shouted in alarm._

"_She must be reacting to the memories she is derived from! Let her out of the containment tube, NOW!" Cid ordered._

_The lower-ranked scientist nodded, moving toward the release button._

_As that strange liquid I had been surrounded by drained away, the initial pain began to fade. I collapsed as soon as was empty. I was still processing how movement was accomplished. Cid and the scientist looked worried (though mostly only because they feared I could have been another failed specimen); while Harmonia just kept staring at me for reasons I was soon to learn._

"_Shit!" the scientist yelled, incredible frustration coming into his facial expression as quickly as one blinks, "IF THIS ANOTHER FUCKING DUD, I'M GOING TO-!"_

"_Relax, Ronald," Cid interjected, "It looks like she's getting up. It seems she was just having trouble adapting into non-suspended conditions." He turned to face him with an annoyed look on his face, "You been doing this the whole time we've been here. If you don't shut up, I'll have to call in Mr. Night-Night again."_

"_No, PLEASE, not the tranquilizer, anything but that!" the extremely bipolar scientist screamed in fear, cowering back into the corner of room._

_Cid face palmed in annoyance, but decided not to go further since Ronald actually shut up this time, "Now then…where were we?" He turned backed to see me on my knees and clutching my head as the last of the memories finished flowing through it._

_I could see myself playing with my sister at home-_

_-The day I first met my true love, Cid-_

_-First successful experiment-_

_-Marrying the love of life-_

_-Our new child-_

_I screamed in pain one more time, and then looked at Harmonia, then my own reflection on the glass._

_That was when I snapped._

"_Who ARE you?!" I cried, reaching out to Harmonia who recoiled in a fear of her own, "Who I am __**I**__?! WHAT am I?!"_

_It was at this point I broke down completely and fainted._

_Though I knew what I sharing so much with her had to mean, I couldn't accept it at the time._

_Being a mere copy is something that is difficult to deal with, but learning this in the first __**moments **__of you existence? The truth made me doubt everything about myself before I even had a chance to know who I truly was inside. My self-esteem was crushed in an instant before I could even develop some of my own._

_The people that ruled over me took advantage of this and were able to make do whatever they wanted because I wanted to feel like I had I reason for existing._

_This is what led me to obey when they asked me to make Chaos continue waging war for them, and I did it without guilt at the time as desired nothing put pleasing my masters._

_It was also why I was the first to summon warriors and started the cycles; something that would come to haunt me when I moved beyond that phase and started to think for myself and began to truly care about my champions. It was after that I began to plan to end that conflict of sorrow and grief…_

* * *

Suddenly, Cosmos's train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a series of glowing lights floating around her. She opened her eyes and identified the source as a giant sea of small crystals.

She touched one and suddenly had a vision of a hill with a lake and a castle in the distance. She touched another and saw the great ruins of what was most likely the most powerful institution in its world. Another one touched and she could see a mining town surrounded by snowy mountains.

Then it came to her, "These must be the memories of worlds our champions came from." She thought aloud.

She knew that it was the memories from other worlds that had flowed through World B that had allowed her and Chaos to bring their champions from those worlds, and gave birth to the gateways when Shinryu first appeared. After surveying her surroundings one more time, she deduced these memories were trying to fill the void World B left in its place

"If I could summon people from memories, then maybe if I only provide a little push…" again, thinking out loud. She wanted to be careful, however, be if she put too much of her power into this feat, this world could become irreparably linked to her- something she wanted to avoid after what happened to World B.

After calculating the right amount of power and influence she would need to give, she began to wave her hands through the air like a conductor would in an orchestra, guiding the memories into the desired positions.

Eventually, the memories clustered together into the hearts of worlds- at least 13 of them, maybe more. These hearts then combined further to one, giant mass (though she noticed some were struggling to fit in properly- she would have to fix that once the process was over).

To finish it off, the heart of this new world gave one giant, blinding flash of light, and Cosmos found herself atop the very same hill see had glimpsed earlier.

It had been done. The Final Fantasies had been brought together more directly than ever.

Cosmos allowed herself a smile- she had done the impossible and had given her warriors a way to see each other once more.

But that gift had come with an unfortunate price for the goddess.

Suddenly, she began to fade away, the light seeping away from her as she fell into a deep slumber...


	2. A Chaotic Rebirth

**Neo Dissidia Final Fantasy: New World, New War**

**Chapter 2: A Chaotic Rebirth**

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**Author's Note: added 10/19/12: Da-da-da-DA! It's here! I was going to add this Wednesday but decided to add in the flashback before I did so. I've also been pretty busy this week and just barley managed to get the first chapter of my _Happy Birthday, Terra_ ficlet done in one sitting late last night in time before Terra's birthday passed by. I will need to add another scene I just came up with for Chapter 3 before I send it in. After that, I had started writting Chapter 4 but- like all the other chapters had before- I'll be rewritting it. So be patient with that (of course, none of the currently 2 people that have reviewed at this point have, I'm just throwing that out there just in case.**

* * *

It had been an ordinary day for Shinryu; wandering the worlds in pursuit of Omega, fighting and destroying any fools that would challenge it, that kind of crap.

Yet the Great Wyrm was bored. Nothing interesting had happened since the cycles had ended and it trapped Cid in a Nightmare dimension of its own creation. The dragon wanted something to spice things up.

However, he never expected that spice to be an entirely new world.

Shinryu had been quite surprised at this development- it was even more surprised when it felt Cosmos's presence within.

Shinryu was certain that Cosmos would have been destroyed when it felt World B disintegrate into the Void, yet she somehow escaped. The New World now had Shinryu's complete attention. Who knows what the Nova Dragon could do with this new playground!

Now let it be known that Shinryu isn't exactly evil. Certainly not _good_, but not evil. Shinryu does what it pleases like an abusive child and does not have any concept of good and evil. As such, it didn't see anything wrong with doing what it did in the cycles until it became trapped in an endless battle with that bizarro Chaos in the Nightmare Dimension

Just as it thought that, it heard a strange roar from the distance. After waiting a few minutes Shinryu decided it must hearing things. Still, the thought was disturbing, seeing as the Rift is supposed to be a realm of silence. Oh well, it's probably nothing. I mean it's not like it could be anything remotely threatening like say-

"ROOOOOAAAAR!"

Shinryu wished it hadn't jinxed itself.

Or rather, it did until it actually saw what was before it.

There was quite a lot of laughter on its side of the table afterwards.

The being appeared be Chaos.

….However, he was also Chaos in the most pitiful state Shinryu ever seen.

The Chaos that stood before the dragon was a mere enlarged head of the being, burning hellish flames. Shinryu correctly deduced that this must be the Chaos from its Nightmare Dimension.

What was its name again? Bizarro Chaos? Perfect Chaos? Cuddle the Grover Chaos?

Ah, Now it remembered; Feral Chaos. Yes, that sounds about right.

Looking down on the head that was now snarling and barking at him like a dog, Shinryu almost felt pity for the abomination.

The thing couldn't even so much as _tickle_ Shinryu.

Maybe the wyrm would keep it as a pet…

Seeing the Chaos head reminded Shinryu of what had happened during the God of Discord's final battle with Cosmos's pawns- with the wrym itself backing him…

* * *

_The time had come. This would be the true end to the Conflict of the Gods- and possibly World B- for all eternity._

_Shinryu had chosen to lend Chaos its power to crush Cosmos's Warriors after Cid broke their agreement of neutrality by currently making teleport stones that could send the warriors home using the power that could be unleashed upon Chaos's demise._

_Yet despite this new power, the two of them were __**still losing! **__The two had underestimated their combined strength and conviction and had lost two of Chaos's three lives (apparently, artificial gods get extra lives- who knew!). _

_Chaos lied still on his throne, on the brink between life and death from the Warriors' attacks. The heroes looked at him, tired, weapons still drawn- unsure if the god was still alive._

_The Onion Knight tilted his head in confusion while the others watched in apprehension."Do you think he's dead?"_

"_Don't know, but whatever you do- __**don't **__look away." Cloud answered, not daring to take his eyes off Chaos for a second. He had an odd feeling that he knew from experience not to do so, but wasn't exactly sure why._

"_I got an idea- let the kid check him out if he's so curious." Squall requested, looking at the kid from the corner of his eyes, nodding towards Chaos to make sure he got the hint._

"_Me?!"_

"_What?!" Terra and Cloud shouted, glaring daggers upon the Lion._

_Said Lion shrugged in response, "The kid's the fastest of us; and is thus the best fit to accomplish the mission."_

"_Weeeeeeelllllllll… when you put it that way…" The Onion Knight immediately rushed towards the unmoving God of Discord before his 'guardians' could stop him._

_Cloud and Terra tried to go stop him but were halted by Squall, "Not yet. He might wake up if anyone else goes up to him."_

"_What the _hell_ is wrong with you Leonhart?!" Cloud roared, ready to beat the crap out of him for putting the kid's life in danger._

_And given the way Terra was _glowing _with fury, she would likely let herself join in for once._

_Meanwhile, Chaos's eyes were__** seething**__ with hatred at the Warriors of Cosmos. He was enraged that such _miserable_ pawns could actually stand a chance to defeat _**him**

_Shinryu, sensing this, took initiative to ask him,_ 'Do you desire more power?'

_Chaos mentally nodded and then demanded, _'**Yes!**" Unlock **all** of my true potential! Lend me all the power you have! _**Let me show them the true power of a god!"**_

'You realize you could go insane if you combine _both_ of our powers. I had already given you my power the last round; any more could break you.'

"_Calm down, he'll fine. Besides…" Squall snorted, "If he does end in trouble, I'm sure his _Big Sister _and her _Boyfriend _can save him."_

"_Boyfriend? You mean…" Terra blushed upon realizing what Squall was implying, startled and embarrassed at the lion's comment. "N-no! T-that's not the case all! We're just friends…"_

_Cloud had a small one at the suggestion too, but quickly regained his composure and went on the defensive, "What makes you think that's the case?"_

"_I didn't, nor did I give a crap, but the reactions I got were priceless."_

_The Onion Knight had been standing next to Chaos the whole time and was now proceeding with poking the God of Discord with his sword._

_Zidane gave a laugh at that, then turned to the lion amusedly, "Heh, Squall has a sense of humor- who knew?"_

"_Seriously though, that's not like you to do that. What prompted it?" Cecil asked._

"_Probably something to do with that Rinoa girl."_

_Squall glared at the Not-SOLDIER, "How the hell did you know about her?! I only remembered her recently!"_

"_You've been talking in your sleep recently. Also, from what I could make out, it was also a _wet_ dream."_

_Cloud allowed himself a smirk at this victory._

"_**ENOUGH WITH THIS FOOLISHNESS!"**_

_The Warriors of Cosmos braced themselves once more; the Onion Knight running back to the others before Chaos could hurt him._

_Chaos rose to battle for the third and final time, chaotic energy bursting from him, __**"I am done toying with you! You cannot surpass me…Now behold, and shiver at the power of a god!"**_

_Chaos then dove into the lava surrounding the Edge of Madness and reemerged as a giant bigger than the Edge of Madness itself._

"_That's bad, isn't it?" Bartz commented._

"_You THINK?!"_

_Chaos grabbed one of the giant swords surrounding the area and slashed at the Warriors with the intent of bisecting them. However, the warriors all found avoiding it very easy as they were small targets and needed only jump over or duck the sword swing; something they were still capable of even in their exhausted states._

_Frustrated with the lack of progress, Chaos decided to move to the finisher. He brought the remaining four swords to him and stabbed them into the mountain. The entire floor glowed and Cosmos Warriors, unable to escape, were caught in the resulting blast and were all knocked to their knees._

_The God of Discord returned to his previous size and then his throne. He gave the near-defeated warriors a contemptuous glare, "__**You resist in vain, Warriors of Cosmos. Your quest was hopeless from the beginning. It was your destiny to lose; just as it is this world's destiny to burn by my hand. The worlds connected to this one through the Gateways too, will likely vanish as well. **_

_Chaos could have left it there, but he chose to move to crushing whatever they had left. As Shinryu said it would, Chaos's sanity was leaving him and replacing it with pure sadistic malice. In short, Chaos was now a true monster. With the knowledge provided by Shinryu, he had exactly what he needed to send them all into despair._

_He turned to Tidus, __**"The goal that kept you moving forward was surpassing your father, was it not? Now what do you have? Your dream has past and your hopes and resolve crushed. Your existence itself was merely an endless dream; a dream that has now come to an end."**_

_Tidus's drive started deflating and Chaos began to surround him in darkness so he would be able to rise. With done, he then moved to Zidane, __**"Look at you. You have utterly failed in protecting your friends and now shall fade alongside them. Now you never know a place to call home except death."**_

_Zidane too became plagued with regret and was also submitted to the same darkness as Tidus. Next up was Squall, __**"Look at where your promise has led you now. You shall now spend an eternity of absolute seclusion in the abyss where no friends can ever reach you."**_

_Squall, as stoic as always, didn't show much despair as the former two, but the darkness that now surrounded him betrayed that. He looked at Cloud with a more malicious grin than he did the others; having much more ammo to use on him, __**"You fail everything you love. Aerith, Tifa, all of them; and now you have failed these friends too."**_

_Cloud fell as well with immeasurable guilt. Chaos's words served to bring back those memories and feelings and the darkness surrounded him faster than it did the previous victims. Then came the Esperkin Terra, who had the heaviest weaknesses of them all. __**"You, 'girl', are nothing but a destructive beast in denial. Even now, you still can't control your power completely. No matter how many friends you make, you shall always be alone and hated as a monster by nearly everyone. Destruction, no matter how much you deny it, will ultimately be what you truly long for."**_

_Terra just bowed her head at this, darkness coming off her as well at Chaos's command. The God of Discord then moved to Bartz- a much tougher target but not without doubts, __**"You journey to fill the void within you, but because of this you shall never know true peace. You heart will belong to the discord forever."**_

_Even Bartz looked defeated as he began to suffer the same malady as the rest. Cecil was next, __**"The bonds you cherish shall soon fade with you as discord consumes both your light and darkness."**_

_Guilt plagued Cecil as well and he was forced into his Dark Knight form as Chaos made good on his promise. The Onion Knight was now next in line, __**"Drown in your fear, little boy. Your usefulness to your friends has now vanished as Terra no longer needs your protection. Indeed, it is now you who really needs protection. You are nothing but a liability to those you care about."**_

_The Onion Knight's insecurities too got the better of him and allowed Chaos to surround him in darkness as he had his friends Firion attempted to block him out so Chaos sent his hateful words both aloud and directly into Firion's mind. __**"You, Firion…"**__ now unwillingly having the rebel's attention, Chaos continued, __**"This is the ultimate result of your dream- for the only true peace comes in death. Your dreams are just nightmares waiting to happen."**_

_With doubt now plaguing his mind and Chaos's darkness his body, Firion was now incapacitated. Now all that's left is the Warrior of Light, __**"You… you don't even know who or possibly even **_**what**_** you are, do you? You have no name, no past, and now no future."**_

_The Warrior, being the Warrior of LIGHT, stood firm but that didn't keep him from being constrained by that darkness. With his job now done, Chaos was now ready to finish this,__** "Do not despair, failed heroes, for soon you be rid of all pain."**_

_Before Chaos could strike, however, he was interrupted by a powerful blast of fire that slammed him against his throne. Upon seeing who hit him, however, he was filled with hatred and disgust for that warrior._

_It was Terra Branford; meek, cowardly (as far as Chaos was concerned) timid, Terra._

_She had gone into Esper form and hit him hard with an f##king cheap shot._

_The Warrior immediately got back into the fray the moment Chaos lost focus on the darkness used to surround them; Bartz, Zidane, and Tidus (the more lighthearted members) struggling against the trauma to try to break free. _

_However, something was going wrong. Terra was suddenly began struggling and the white of her glowing eyes began turning yellow and her irises red. The lavender-blue magical aura that usually outlined her form turning to a red-pink and growing fiercer._

_Signs she was losing control._

_Chaos laughed, __**"Was I not right on the mark? Pitiful..." **__The God of Discord crossed his lower pair of arms, ** "Now then... I shall watch you from afar as slaughter your own comrades for me."**_

"_N-no…" Terra said, her voice a bit deeper and guttural at first before returning to its normal tone. She stopped struggling, her eyes and aura returning to normal as she turned her gaze back to Chaos, standing up to in an act of defiance. "Maybe what you said about me was right. Maybe I am a destructive beast. But I still have everyone's hopes and dreams on the line! My friends here the ones that taught me their importance and showed me the strength having bonds can give! For their sake, I won't be defeated!"_

_Chaos sat silently, __**"Is that so? In that case…"**__ The God of Discord began charging up a massive fireball between his four hands, __**"DIE FOR YOUR PETTY HOPE!"**_

_He fired the stream of fire from point blank, blasting Terra and forcefully taking her out of her Esper form. As Chaos moved to finish the defiant girl, he noticed that all the other warriors were missing._

_Just as he noticed, however, he was attacked in a frenzy of sword attacks; Cloud beating him down with Braver to be launched back up with a powerful sword thrust courtesy of the Warrior's Rune Saber attack. Back in the air he was then sliced and diced by Tidus who was able to avoid Chaos's counterstrikes while doing so. _

_Bartz then followed by shooting Holy orbs at the God of Discord while he was overwhelmed and then summoned three steams of fire to converge on Chaos, with the Onion Knight sending a swarm of meteors at him to intercept immediately afterwards. As Chaos went flying again, Zidane span into him with a pink aura surrounding him, knocking him into a Straightarrow from Firion._

_Terra's act of courage gave the other warriors time to break out and recover, allowing them to overwhelm him with attacks._

_Terra got back up, the Warrior of Light coming to her side to help her up, "T-thank you"_

"_It's time to finish this!" the Warrior declared. _

_The ten stared down the now recovered God of Discord, who now had Shinryu give him all the Summon bonuses it had…_

* * *

Suddenly, the dragon felt something within itself burn with primal desire; interrupting it's flashback.

Shinryu roared in pain. What could be the cause of this?

It quickly found its answer when it looked back at Chaos and found that the pain increased when it did so.

No doubt it's what was left of the original Chaos that it absorbed wanting to become one with its counterpart to become whole once again.

Shinryu had no doubt that if that were to happen, all hell could break loose upon the new world it was surveying once Chaos finds Cosmos and restarts the Conflict of the Gods to take revenge on the goddess, her warriors, and his father

….Not that Shinryu had any intention of letting that happen, of course. It planned to absorb the Feral Chaos entity the same way it absorbed the true Chaos. Perhaps then it would go to challenge Cosmos's champions in order to take its own revenge for the defeats it had faced from the hands of some of those warriors; even if they were merely transient.

Just as the wyrm was about to make its move, it found it was unable to do so. It realized that Chaos was exerting his presence from within so that Shinryu won't be able to resist his counterpart.

Feral Chaos then turned pitch-black as he expanded to twice size of the wyrm itself. Shinryu could only stare as the massive Chaos-shaped head engulfed the dragon whole.

The Feral Chaos, its objective accomplished, shrunk to a miniscule size, the only thing left visible was its prey.

Shinryu was very confused by this until it looked at itself and noticed that the darkness of Feral Chaos was still covering it.

Then it started glowing red.

'_That can't be goo-'_

_**Booooooooooooom!**_

Shinryu suddenly detonated; it's very particles were ripped apart by a massive crimson blast that tore it apart from within. Emerging from the blast was the fearsome god of discord himself, Chaos.

Only…not really. This Chaos more resembled Feral Chaos's Ex-mode, with some alterations. Unlike Feral Chaos, his horns were not broken and his wings not torn (though there are spike-like triangles embroidering the bottom of them that makes them look like such).

The God of Discord seemed to be calming down, somehow reverting to his original form. He examined his surroundings, searching for something. He came to a stop when he spotted his target, the newly-created world where Cosmos and her soon to be aware champions lay.

"**Cosmos..."** Chaos said as gazed upon the world, "**I am ready for **_**you**_**, but will you be ready for **_**me**_**?**"

Chaos then flew towards the combined world, pondering whether or not he should go all out guns a blazing or if he should go for a more subtle approach.

Perhaps he should reunite with his **dear** warriors.

* * *

Cosmos awoke from her slumber immediately after feeling her counterpart's presence. She looked up towards the sky, a sad but determined look in her eyes.

'_Chaos…it seems neither of us can escape our fate to battle each other after all... But this time will be different. I will give it my all to defend this world, no matter what.'_

Cosmos then noticed she seemed to be in her sanctuary. Odd since she remembered fading away last chapter, but she thought nothing of it and moved to summon her warriors once more, light gathering around her as she focused her power to the task.

In a matter of minutes, the task was completed as she felt a couple warriors emerge…

After seeing who she summoned, however, she facepalmed.

"What the- Mew, where are we?"

"_How the hell should I know? But more importantly, we're not exactly in Lemmy's Land anymore. We can wipe our hands of that shit now."_

"Yay! Reboot!"

Cosmos clutched her temples. '_Why do I feel like this was a horrible mistake...?"_

* * *

"…_**How dare that fool destroy ME. There will be mortal consequences for this injustice…"**_

* * *

_**Be sure to review and give me your opinion and things I could do to improve it!**_


	3. A Chaotic Reunion

**Neo Dissidia Final Fantasy: New World, New War**

**Chapter 3: A Chaotic Reunion**

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**Author's Note: 10/20/2012: And here is Chapter 3! Things will really start to get interesting from here on out now that we're getting to our favorite heroes and villans!**

**Oh, and I haven't done this yet, but I don't own the _Final Fantasy_ franchise. All properties belong to Square-Enix, all rights reserved.**

**I do, however, own Mike and Mew (they aren't in this story right now but they might show up).**

* * *

In the middle of what is known as the Old Chaos Shrine, a lone man wearing an incredibly heavy looking silver suit of armor that seemed too big for anyone to wear stirred from his sleep on the throne within. This man was Garland, the Warrior of Chaos that persuaded Chaos to take the path of the destroyer and stood loyal to the God of Discord till the very end. He searched his surroundings, attempting to deduce whether or not he was in the past.

'_Why was I brought to the past in the first place? I don't remember there being any time travel involved in this cycle…'_ Then Garland remembered the events leading to his departure. '_Right… I was sent here to- wait a minute…why was I thinking that the Chaos there was the same one I would have become…unless-!'_

"Shinryu…" Garland growled and got up from the throne and began pacing around in thought. The dragon must have toyed with his memories to make him believe in that delusion. That meant that wherever he was, it likely was **not** the past at all.

'_But if that's the case, where did that treacherous wrym send me!'_

While Garland considered this, another figure awakened on the roof. This gold-armored, helmetless man saw the vacant throne below and silently took it for his own while Garland was distracted.

"Excuse me," The man began, getting Garland's attention, "but do believe I haven't introduced myself. My name is Emperor Mateus Palamecia II, and as of right now, I shall be your new master, lowly knight."

Garland rolled his eyes, "My only master is the soul of strife, pathetic monarch. You should know this by now."

Mateus glared at him, "On the contrary, it is _you_ who should know _your_ place. On that note, why do you speak of me as if we are acquainted?"

If you could see Garland's face, you would see that was actually shocked at the Emperor's question.

'_So he doesn't remember anything about the cycles. I know him well enough to know when he's lying after all the times we've forced to work together. But perhaps that's for the best…'_

"No, but I have seen plenty of obnoxious tyrant's like you to know one when I see one." The Fell Knight responded instead.

Mateus merely frowned. He was not a man to let his feelings get the better of him- he had once let his heart guide him before, and it had only caused him pain. "Fair enough; but could you at least inform me as to why we have been brought here?"

Garland shook his head, "I only have theories, but know answers. But fear not;-", as he said this, black smoke came of the two as they suddenly began to fade away, "we shall soon know the truth for ourselves."

Mateus panicked, his composure temporarily broken and body finding itself unable, "W-what is this magic?! ….Why can't I move?!" Mateus questioned, this sudden turn of events violating one of his comfort zones.

He despised any kind of power he couldn't control- especially when it's being used against him. It made him feel violated.

"Relax and accept whatever fate awaits us, and know how powerless we truly are in its cold embrace!" Garland laughed, delighting in Mateus's sudden fear even as the Emperor sent him a death glare onto him in response.

Then they vanished, the only thing left of their presence being the echoes of Garland booming laughter.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a realm consisting of interconnecting obsidian glass platforms floating in a dark abyss of nothing, a similar meeting was taking place on one particular platform between two beings that could thrive in the sensation of death that still haunted this realm ages after its destruction.

… And Golbez, the odd one out of this forced trio.

Golbez wasn't sure how to approach the two heartless beings in front of him, as they radiated death and despair simply by existing. The last thing he remembered was going into suspended animation with his father's kin.

'_Yet here I am, forced back into my dark armor and likely forced back into an evil entity's control. At the very least my mind still seems to be my own, so at least he/she is more considerate than Zemus; the bastard.'_

Golbez turned to his new 'companions'. One seemed to be a woman (or at least looked like one) with silver-hair with a red mark on her forehead and had snake-like tentacles on her posterior. She/it seemed to still be half-asleep in a red and black colored cloud. Because of that dark cloud, the rest of her body was obscured.

The other was man clad in sky-blue armor with spiked shoulders and a spiked helmet.

For some reason, his appearance reminded Golbez of a tree.

The man seemed to be staring into his soul; and he'd like that to stop as soon as possible.

"So, since we seemed to be stuck together for the time being, we may as well introduce ourselves." Upon noticing that the tree-like man had stopped staring he continued, "You may call be Golbez."

"…So, you do not remember. My name is Exdeath, Warlock of the Void," he then gestured to the now almost awake third person in the room, "And this is the Cloud of Darkness…also a harbinger of the Void."

The Cloud took one look at her/its surroundings and immediately determined what their situation was. "So….we meet again." She responded blankly, uninterested in their current predicament.

With the shroud gone, Golbez could now see the Cloud in her/its full entirety. He was shocked by what he saw, as it appeared to be completely naked, her body covered only with strange markings.

This managed to kick-start Golbez's memories (is he a pervert or something?) and he could now recall a good deal of his time in World B due to their presence. Though those memories were still foggy, he was still able to put together a good picture of what must have happened.

The other two picked up on this, but did not comment on it. "…"

"…"

"…"

"…So," Golbez started, trying to start a conversation to break the unsettling silence, "Cloud of Darkness, there is something I've been wanting to ask."

"Yes?"

"Are you a she, or an it?" He asked. He knew he sounded rude in asking this, but he knew the Cloud wouldn't care.

Besides, wouldn't you want to ask that if you ever met her/it (you'd be dead, but still…).

The Cloud considered this, and after discussing this with the other two minds, she/it answered, "If you must know, collectively we are an 'it'. However, if you are discussing the central being, I myself, I am a 'she' because our central body has always been female."

"Interesting, but know I must ask; where did you come from? What are you? Have you existed since the dawn of time or…"

The Cloud was about to answer when she realized- she doesn't know that herself.

"We…do not know. Or at least, I do not. The other two," she said, looking down at her snake tentacles whose heads were looking away from her, "have declined to answer this question. But it matters not. The only thing that we seek is the Void."

"Amen." Exdeath commented.

Golbez was about to question further when he began to fade in the same way Garland and Mateus had. He also panicked a little, like Mateus, but you couldn't tell with his armor on. Golbez quickly recovered past the initial shock and calmly watched as he faded with the Cloud of Darkness and Exdeath…

* * *

Sephiroth is a man known for many things. Being Shinra's fallen hero, burning down Nibelheim and killing almost all of its citizens in fit of misguided homicidal rage upon discovering a incorrect record of his origins, getting killed by a mere infantryman known as Cloud Strife, coming back from the depths of the lifestream five years to f**k up Cloud's head (not that difficult of an accomplishment since it was already pretty f**ked up already), killing Aerith, summoning Meteor and throwing the Planet into a state of panic, getting killed again by Cloud and friends and almost succeeding in destroying the Planet if not for Aerith and the Lifestream's intervention, spreading the plague Geostigma, spawning three remnants that terrorized the new city of Edge, returning through one of them, and being destroyed by Cloud a third time with Geostigma following soon after.

One thing he isn't known for is being really f**king pissed afterwards.

'_#### YOU STRIFE! #######! EVERY. ####ING. TIME. WHEN I RETURN, YOUR FIRST IN LINE TO GET ####### OVER! ####### ############ ######## ############ ##### ######## ######- hey, wait, what is this?'_

Sephiroth opened his eyes once again for first time in two years. He appeared to be in an area composed of mismatched bits of earth and machinery. It seemed to resemble a laboratory or factory of some sort.

'_What is this place? It seems familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it…why do I suddenly have an irritating feeling about this…'_

"HEY, FREELOADER!" Sephiroth turned around and saw a strange man that resembled a mixture between a clown and a jester, "I don't care who are, pretty boy, but you better get the hell out my tower if you know what's good for you! Or did you just come all this way to be destroyed? In that case, I'll be happy to oblige!" The clown threatened.

Sephiroth just ignored him. In his eyes, this man was merely a fool that wasn't even worth the effort of killing…

"Are you ignoring me? Fine then…" the clown said, a circle of runes appearing above and below him…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!-

Sephiroth grunted in pain as several orbs of pure, destructive magic pounded on him from the glowing rune portal that emerge from above Kefka and was currently chasing him down.

"WAHhohohohoho! DIE! BURN! DIE!" Kefka laughed, letting out his signature cackle as he revealed in the destruction he caused.

Smoke and the smell of burning flesh filled the room. As far as Kefka was concerned, the Black-Coated Bastard was dead. Even if he wasn't, Kefka was certain he could take anything the man could throw at him.

"Well, that was fun, but all things must come to an end one day. Oh well." Kefka said to himself as he began to float up his tower and disappear to his perch at its summit.

Or rather, that was the plan.

Instead he found his head stuck in the ceiling.

"Wrhur fruden-!" He quickly blew up the roof and freed himself, "WHAT the hell is this?! Why can't I get out of MY- shit!" he quickly got of the way of the heap of rubble that was once a ceiling before it could crush him.

Kefka just stared from his floating position and picked his nose while the rubble half buried the rest of room. "…Well. THAT was one hell of close call. Don't want a bunch of crap bruising this HANDSOME visage!"

Crrk..!

"Eh?" Kefka looked below and noticed that the rubble was starting to shift.

"…That's odd."

The rubble began shaking violently.

"Now that I think of it, wasn't there some guy I left down there?"

The rubble completely burst with his one wing out and eyes seething in fury came-!

"That's right…Sephi-UACK!"

Sephiroth was one right in front of the Mad Mage, sword piercing the clown's chest.

Shinra's Fallen Hero was a mess. Though he wasn't wounded too seriously, his hair was mess and his coat had plenty of new holes in it.

The biggest wound he received, however, was to his pride. He had grossly underestimated his opponent and let him walk all over him.

But not anymore.

"Rest in hell, pathetic clown." And with that, he removed his Masamune walked away from the corpse of Kefka…

"…What is this?" Sephiroth quickly turned around to find that the psychopath still lived. The clown stood up still looking at the blood that now stain his…outfit, "**Blood…MY BLOOD?!**" Kefka finally met Sephiroth's gaze eyes glowing yellow with hatred. **"…PLAY DEAD!"**

Wings burst from Kefka's back; two pair lavender angel wings, one pair blood red demonic wings. His clothes and makeup vanished as he assumed his God of Magic form and smote him with his Light of Judgment attack.

As the resulting smoke cleared, Sephiroth could be seen glaring at the madman as they both reverted to their normal forms. Sephiroth survived by sacrificing his Ex-Mode to save his skin, but could do more now. Kefka, similarly, was also caught in the blast (he wasn't thinking clearly when he did) and also exited his empowered form.

As the two 'angels' recovered, they could now see how much damage they had caused to the tower. In short, it had been all but totaled in the struggle. They were now caved in and trapped its rubble.

Thankfully, they both vanished in the same manner as the previous Warriors of Chaos had, so they didn't have to deal with that.

* * *

Ultimecia Castle was a place as dark and lonely as its master. However, breaking the pattern that has been set, Ultimecia herself was missing. The 'Angel of Death' and the 'Final Aeon', however, were still present in the Clock Tower.

They had been there for quite a while.

So long, in fact, that Jecht was getting bored.

Much to Kuja's irritation.

"_55 bottles of beer on the wall, 55 bottles of beeeeer, Take one down, pass it around, 54 bottles of beer on the wall._"

GODDAMMIT, SHUT UP! You've been singing that song for an hour now!" yelled Kuja, sounding _incredibly_ pissed off.

"What else am I supposed to do? Jecht asked. He was laying on the ramp-way situated in the middle of the clock tower, staring at the oddly nonexistent ceiling. "We're stuck in this weird-ass castle, you're too boring, and I haven't been drunk for what seems like years cause there's no booze here."

Kuja glared at him from the top. "Do I LOOK like I give a damn?"

Jecht got up and returned said glare. "Who cares? Now help me find some fucking booze!"

"Get your own liquor, filthy brute!"

"Yeah know WHAT? Fine! Now then…"

And so began Jecht's quest for beer. He began looking everywhere, looking for some sort of secret switch or something that would reveal a also secret…um...beer storage place… yeah, this wasn't exactly Jecht's brightest moment. At least his futile quest gave Kuja some amusement. Kuja shook his head and shifted his focus to his own thoughts.

'_I cannot believe he's actually serious about this. You have to be REALLY drunk or REALLY desperate. There is no chance in HELL that that witch would have a-'_

"BEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR! COME TO PAPA!"

Kuja turned around in surprise and- to his shock and disillusionment- there was indeed a beer cellar (or whatever you call that) . Turns out it was located in-between two gears on the left side of the tower.

"Hey! Kuja! Come on over! The beer's good!"

Kuja simply decided to just go with it. After all, who knows what the Final Aeon could do if left on his own while tanked.

Kuja had NO intentions of cleaning up the mess that would likely follow.

"Why do you want me for?" Kuja asked as he glided down.

Jecht forcefully grabbed his arm. "Because, kid, tonight we're gonna introduce you to the wonderful world of BOOZE!"

"Why?"

Jecht glared at him. "You wanna know why I went back to the bottle after swearing off it back in my world? Because I had to deal with YOU homicidal maniacs for an entire cycle! By time the last cycle was over, me and booze had to settle our differences for our own sanity!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Cycles?! You're just speaking nonsense now!"

"Yesses yah ares! Mister Muffin saids so!"

"Mister what?! What are you- oh, you're already drunk, aren't you?"

"NAAAAAAAAAAAWW! I's am totalllie sober!" Jecht said, already on his tenth beer and getting pretty tipsy.

"I'm going to regret coming over here, aren't I?"

Jecht proceeded to drag Kuja over to cellar against his will…

* * *

The nine warriors now found themselves face to face with the God of Discord himself at his throne at the Edge of Madness. Chaos seemed to grin at the sight of them- his plan was now soon to be put into motion.

"**Greetings my- "** Chaos paused when he saw the state of his warriors. Five of them were fine, but Kefka and Sephiroth looked like they've been to hell, Kuja completely wasted and passed out, and Jecht was drunk off his ass and had a strangely triumphant grin on his face.

"**Right then…"** Chaos raised his hand and gave Jecht and Kuja a violent shock of chaotic energy to force them out of their drunk states. After seeing that they were now paying attention, Chaos decided to start over with his speech.

"**Greetings, my warriors. You may or may not remember me, but you shall soon. Also, if you feel that someone is missing, that's because there is. Garland, I need your assistance for retrieving her. For now, know that you all have been given a second chance to fulfill your desires. All I ask in return…is that you help me defeat Cosmos and her wretched pawns."**

The Emperor just blew him off, "Why should we help you? Or rather, why should I bother; I don't care what happens to these peasants and freaks of nature ."

Most of the Chaos Warriors ignored the blind Emperor's words, but Chaos just smiled, **"Ah! Mateus! Just who I needed! Let me show you all what will happen now to Warriors of Chaos who have been **_**Naughty!"**_

A hellish portal opened and hands came out to grab the Emperor and pull him in.

The other Warriors of Chaos gaped at this (even the Cloud and Exdeath).

Chaos nodded, **"The last time many of you abandoned me and left me all alone. That really hurt my feelings. So if you make any plans to take my life, or are just being a dick to me, you are sent into a my own personal Hell Dimension. Anything else is free game. Any questions? No? Good."**

* * *

On that famous hill overlooking Castle Cornelia, a man wearing a Black Coat (think of the Black Coats from _Kingdom Hearts_) was looking over the this new world, a smile on his shrouded face.

_'It's showtime, Warriors of Cosmos! Friend or Foe? It's all up to you! Shape the future!'_

* * *

**Author's Note: 10/20/2012: Next time, we shall begin to catch up with Cosmos's Warriors and see what they've been up to since their original games! Be sure to review! Criticism is accepted so long as it is constructive. **

**Also, next chapter might take longer to come. You can look forward to the second chapter of _Happy Birthday, Terra! _tomorrow. Afterwards, you might see some bonus chapters covering what happened in between sometime later.**


	4. Those That Did The Impossible Part 1

**Neo Dissidia Final Fantasy: New World, New War**

**Chapter 4: Those That Did The Impossible 1  
**

* * *

**Author's Note: 11/6/2012: I'm back! Things are getting busy for for right now, which is why this took a while to come out and why next one will likely take a while to come out as well. Don't worry, I'm in this for the long hall and am always thinking up ideas for this story and others for the future. I have the basic outline for this all lined up in my head; the only problem is getting there.**

**Edit: 12/22/13: After noting the names given to the Warrior, Thief, White Mage, and Black Mage in the official novelization, I decided their names for the Thief and White Mage characters were superior to mine (I was wasn't all that satisfied with them...), I've edited their names accordingly. Same changes made to Chapter 5.**

* * *

The Warrior of Light, after departing from World B upon Chaos's defeat. When he arrived at World A alongside his friends and comrades he wound up alone following their returns to their individual worlds. Seeing a castle in the distance, he set forth, intent on learning more about the world he found himself in, with his crystal still in hand.

On his way, met his future fellow Warriors of Light: Black Mage the sarcastic and cynical warlock (later named Zok), White Mage the kind and loving healer (whose name was later recalled to be Floe), Thief the shady and crafty rouge (name revealed to be Prince Sauber of Elfheim, who went missing after his brother was cursed by Astos), Monk, a dull but daring fighter (also known as Walz), and Red Mage the cunning and intelligent wizard (later named Gill)(For the record, these names were selected from the optional auto-names provided by the remakes Dawn of Souls and onward).

Though none of them remembered their pasts at first, this never stopped them from fulfilling their destinies. Together they defeated Garland (who to Warrior's surprise, didn't seem to remember him at all) and rescued Princess Sarah, destroyed the Four Fiends and restored the Crystals of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind, and ultimately went 2000 years into the past and defeated the fiends' master, a resurrected Garland, and finally killed him once and for all after he transformed into Chaos (which, again, completely shocked Warrior). With Garland's time loop broken, the Warriors of Light returned to a world untouched by his wrath.

Though time had been rewritten, they were content with enjoying this peace. Thankfully (for better or for worse), it seemed that the tale of their deeds lived on and they were still celebrated as heroes anyway.

However, when they returned to Cornelia, Garland was nowhere in sight. Fearing what sort of havoc their nemesis could cause, they have been searching for him ever since.

Their recent lead led them all the way to Crescent Lake. They are currently searching for him in the surrounding forest.

"I'm telling you, this is a waste of time! Why the hell would Garland be here?! This place sucks ass!" cried Zok, angrily trying to swat away the myriad of insects that seemed to be drawn to his scent.

The sheer numbers of bug-bites and possible diseases he had suffered were putting him in a VERY pissy mood.

The mage wore the standard attire for his job class: a straw hat to obscure his face, and blue robes that hid the rest of his body. Not even his fellow warriors knew what he looked like underneath.

The Warrior glared at him in annoyance, "Not now Zok, we haven't found Garland."

"Oh, fuck that shit! The bastard's probably dead or something anyway!"

The Warrior had refused multiple times to stop this search. He was so obsessed with finding Garland that he had nearly blocked everything other thought from his mind.

"Warrior," Sauber sighed on shook his head, "it's time to give up. If you continue, I'll have to leave. I've put off saving my brother again long enough." The thief said as he reclined on a nearby tree. Because of the changes in the timeline, the Elf prince's brother was still cursed since that deed was undone.

The Warrior simply glanced at him. "You can leave if you want then. Give my regards to the prince."

The thief wore a dirt-brown shirt and a forest-green vest and shorts. His outfit was chosen to best aid him hide in the forest when he steals something from someone/something.

Sauber did a double take at his words. "Wait, seriously. That's it. You're just going to let me leave?" The Warrior had been adamant on not letting the others leave until the job was done.

The Warrior nodded. "You have prior obligations."

"Does that me-"

"No."

"Damnit!" Zok cried.

Sauber took off, beginning his trek towards their ship (which they received after beating Bikke…again).

Gill shook her head as she watched the thief leave. "This is utterly hopeless." She sighed.

"…What are you implying?" the Warrior questioned with an almost-threatening tone in his voice.

She turned back to the warrior with a stern expression her face. "We do not even know if the man is the Archfiend we know or the hero he once was in the old timeline. You should have thought this through before you forced us into this wild goose-chase."

"Then why did YOU come willingly?" the Warrior was starting to get irritated.

"Because for all your courage and strength, you can be such a stubborn pain in the ass that I am not very comfortable letting unsupervised. Remember that time you tried to kill Lich alone?"

The Warrior reflected on that error in judgment as the Red Mage continued, "I know you didn't want any of us to possibly die, but you didn't even make it past the Vampire without us. He was vanquished easily with all of us together."

"Look, if we don't know his whereabouts and mentality for certain, he could attack-"

"-Cornelia at a moment's notice and kill Princess Sarah?" Gill finished, leaving the Warrior rather embarrassed, "We all know you seem to have a thing for her. You know you could simply ask the King and Queen if you could court her. I doubt they would refuse given the fact what you have done for the world."

The Warrior stood silent for a moment, conflicted between finding Garland and returning to Sarah.

"If it helps, Garland would probably try to attack Cornelia first, so heading back might not be a bad idea." Floe added, seeing the Warrior's discomfort.

Floe was definitely the epitome of what a White Mage is; the girl couldn't even bare to see anyone in even emotional pain and would do her best to comfort those people.

"…Thank you, Floe." The Warrior said, grateful for her advice, "Gentlemen- and women, we shall start the journey back to our homes. But first, we must meet up with Sauber and aid him in defeating Astos."

Zok snorted, "Not that he _needs_ help against that total pushover."

"True," Walz commented, "but we will at least be able to watch. Frick'in Marsh Cave…"

The Warrior sighed at that, "Yes, we all hate Marsh Cave. Now let's go." And with that, the Warriors of Light marched on. The Warrior paused for a second, looking to the skies in with a whimsical expression on his face as he remembered his time with his first comrades.

'_Firion, …um, Onion, Cecil, Bartz, Terra, Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus; I will never forget our journey together, much as I will never forget my journey with my new friends. May the light forever shine upon us all."_

As the Warrior caught up with his companions, he began to feel a dark omen in the air.

'_Let us hope the light does forever shine upon us, for darkness seems to be looming…'_

* * *

After the defeat of the Emperor of Hell, it seemed like Firion's world would finally know peace.

However, this wasn't to be.

The monsters that the Dark Emperor unleashed upon the still plagued the world. Most were mindless beasts, but there are some that are so large they could wipeout a town singlehandedly. Even more dangerous were those demons that possessed intelligence. Those monsters could easily lead lesser fiends for their own sinister ends.

In response to these epidemics, the United Nations of Floroma established a guild system of Monster Hunters. These hunters would take missions, usually requiring the slaying of a specific monster, and would receive gil for its completion; pretty standard stuff.

This is what the party of Firion, Maria, and Guy have been doing since the Wild Rose Rebellion had disbanded follow the Emperor's demise. With their parents dead, they couldn't return to their old life, and since she had noticed that Firion and Guy were getting restless, Maria reluctantly agreed when Firion proposed the idea to the two of them.

This is what led the trio into their current predicament- facing off against TWO King Behemoths at once.

Or rather, one King Behemoth and its mate, a _Queen_ Behemoth.

The pair had been using whatever intelligence, however little, that they had to command the local rank and file beasts to attack the nearby town. The demons were easily able to ravage it in a matter of hours with their alphas' aid. What few survivors there were had posted a mission requesting the elimination of these beasts and their leaders, but had little success in finding any takers due to the high risks and little pay involved.

Then Firion and company arrived.

Firion attempted a sword strike for their horned but surprisingly vulnerable foreheads, a weakness the trio had learn of during their encounters with their kind in Pandemonium. Sadly, the demons were very careful of not letting anything lethal near them, and this King target retaliated with a viscous claw swipe to knock off his feet. He was able to block the blow, but it nearly destroyed his shield in the process.

Guy came to follow up by tossing his axe at the beast, covering for Firion and succeeding in destroying a good chunk of its horns in the process. Maria then finished the job with shooting an arrow through its now exposed forehead, killing it instantly.

However, they'd forgotten about the female in when Maria and Guy came to Firion's aid, allowing it time to sneak behind them. It roared in demonic fury at the death of its mate, catching the party's attention before it moved in for the kill. Firion reacted quickly, grabbing Maria's bow and somehow used it to launch his Blood Sword at it.

The thing didn't even have a chance in face of such strength, dying in a matter of seconds.

Maria took her bow back, looking at her adopted brother in surprise. "Nice strike, but when did you come up with that move?"

Firion shrugged in response, not sure how he did either. "I don't know, honestly. It just came to me."

"Right then. Let's get us healed up before we finish things up here. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get some rest." Maria sighed. "Lord knows we could use it right now."

Maria was a rather attractive young woman of 19 years of age. She had striking purple hair and violet-blue eyes. She wore a strapless purple tunic with tight, darker purple pants and boots.

"Maria's right. Don't want to die here, do we?" Guy added.

Guy was a huge, mammoth of a young man who had, believe it or not, only turned 18 a few months ago. He wore a light blue helmet (which, unlike Garland and Golbez, actually showed his face) and armor of the same color (though it seemed to be too small for him, but that was the biggest size they had).

Firion surveyed the ruins of the village, checking for any more monsters. "Looks like that might not be necessary. They seem to have all run off after we killed their leaders."

Maria shook her head. "Still, they could still be hiding nearby. I think it would be best if we do a more thorough search of the area before we head out. It would be bad for our reputation if they struck right after the survivors came back to rebuild."

"Probably for best I guess." Firion seemed quite troubled as he sat down on the stairs of one the destroyed houses. Meanwhile, Guy found a piece of wood and started whittling away at it with a knife. He always got bored at this part of a mission and took this up as hobby to keep himself entertained when this time came.

"What's the matter, Firion?" Maria questioned, sitting down next to her stepbrother with a look of concern on her face.

Firion sighed, "I'm not sure, I just have this bad feeling in my gut right now that something bad is going to happen soon."

Maria furrowed her brow at this. "Why? We've been doing really well lately, and the number of remaining fiends is at an all time low."

Firion looked away, hesitating as he considered whether he should say what haunted his mind.

"Firion-"

"I dreamt you two were killed, Okay?!"

Maria did a double take at this answer. "Say what?!"

"Both you and Guy… I my dream, the Emperor came back to life to seek his revenge against us. He once again ravaged Fynn with an army of demons, reducing it to rubble with no chance of survival. He personally tried to kill Queen Hilda, killing King Gordon on his way to the throne room. We were there waiting for him, ready to defeat him once again. But he was too strong, and he killed you two with his bare hands. He ripped your hearts out as I looked on in horror, unable to do anything as he did the same to Hilda. He finished off the town by casting the biggest Starfall spell you'd ever seen." Firion bowed his head towards the ground, trembling as he recounted the events of his dreams.

Maria looked terrified at his tale, looking at Firion in shock. "W-what?!…That's…that's completely horrific!"

Firion nodded in agreement, glad to have gotten this of his chest. "It is. I know it wasn't real, but still…"

Maria nodded in understanding.

* * *

It was just another day for the town of Ur and it's relatively famous inhabitants: two of the Warriors of Light!

A 12 year old red-headed boy got out of his bed, ready to start a new day. He took off his plain white PJs and put on his normal clothes: a simple red button-down shirt with brown pants. He went down stairs and saw his foster mom and little brother already there.

His mother was young woman almost in her thirties with golden-blonde hair wearing a simple blue dress. Her name was Nina. Arc was a little 9-year old golden blonde-haired boy that wore exactly what that OTHER Arc wore, only smaller.

"Good morning, Luneth. " His mother called, cooking something on the oven. Upon taking in the aroma in the kitchen, Luneth noticed that she happened to be making his favorite thing for breakfast this morning-

"Pancakes!" the boy cheered, rushing to take his plate. However, his mother held him back, admonishing him for forgetting his manners.

"Nuh-uh-ah. What do we say first?"

Luneth paused, then he remembered, "Oh, right. Thanks, Mom!"

He tried to move to his plate again but Nina was still keeping him back, "And before that?"

"Good morning, Mom!" Nina had a laugh at this, and then let him go at them.

As Luneth took a bite out of his blueberry flapjacks, his little brother, the 9-year old blonde boy Arc, came up to their mom with a excited look on his face, "Hey! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!-"

"_What?!_" She finally shouted, annoyed at the boy's antics.

"Can I go to the Library?" He finally asked, looking at her with puppy-dog eyes…

…Which really weren't necessary since his foster mom no problem with this. "Of course! But why did you have to ask me like that?"

Arc shrugged, "I dunno."

"Right…"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the powerful Kingdom of Baron, King Cecil was waiting for the ambassadors/leaders of the five other major powers in his world: Damcyan, Fabul, Troia, Mysidia, and Eblan; for the annual State of Affairs meeting. This tradition had started the year following his crowning as a way to increase communication between the nation-states so that a conflict like the Lunar War from 6 years ago could never happen again…

…Eh, too easy.

Like I was saying, Cecil was currently waiting for his friends and fellow rulers to arrive; however, they were running rather late.

4 hours late.

While the Paladin King was waiting he watched Rydia (who came to represent Mist and to babysit) who was keeping the 4-year old Ceodore in check. Right now he was all alone on his throne since those two were off somewhere else in the castle and his wife, Queen Rosa, was currently (by their request) teaching the White Mage Corps.

Cecil sighed. For the first hour he had taken to singing "200 Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall". For the second hour he was fortunate enough for Ceodore to drop by to play with his daddy (Rydia needed a breather; more on that later). In the third hour he had managed to find the stash of his 'guilty pleasure' and enjoyed himself until Rosa popped by during a recess and promptly (and rightfully) confiscated it and threw it into the fireplace in their bedroom.

Now he had resorted to counting the number of tiles on the ceiling (the count was currently at 2,748).

You may ask why he didn't simply leave the throne room, but the fact was he didn't really have a choice. It was considered a faux pas for a leader of a nation- _especially_ the leader of the most powerful state in the world- to be seen away from his throne room when he has such visitors. It showed to delegates that that leader is irresponsible, has poor time management skills, and is rather rude.

Was this standard incredibly stupid? Yes, but it was something expected from everyone. When young King Edge came to power at age 19 following the Lunar War, the Seneschal went berserk on him for making that mistake early on. Edge couldn't sit straight for weeks.

Just then, Cecil heard Ceodore running in giggling with Rydia on his tail. Ceodore looked like he could do this forever, but after 6 hours, Rydia was looking pretty tired.

Rydia was a sexy young woman now 23 years old. She had green hair and deep blue eyes. She wore a green outfit with golden knee-high golden heeled boots and draperies adorned with stars.

Little Ceodore had platinum-blonde hair (apparently the genes regarding hair color had engaged in a brutal war that ultimately had to be resolved a mix between his mother's light-blonde and his father's silver) and light blue eyes. He wore a simple blue play-tunic with gold embroidering along with lighter-blue pants.

"Having trouble?" Cecil asked with an amused grin on his face. To Rydia's annoyance, the king seemed to find her situation funny.

Rydia gave the king a furious glare, "DON' . ME. _STARTED!_ Do you know the kinds of things your son has been getting into?"

"No. Care to enlighten me?" Cecil responded. Ceodore was always excited to see his 'Auntie Rydia', and he tended to be a quite a handful when he gets excited. And seeing as Rydia was their second choice as a babysitter when Cid wasn't around (and since when Cecil and Rosa had to go somewhere, this was often the case since the old man was generally the pilot); she often had to deal with the little bundle of energy.

From what the Paladin could see, though, that whatever happened this time around was a lot more hectic than usual.

The green-haired summoner huffed. "I looked behind my back for a second, and Ceodore somehow wound up-"

"Your majesty."

The two turned their attention to the red-armored guard facing them. "The delegates have arrived."

Cecil nodded, "Send them in." He turned back to Rydia, "We'll discuss this later. I really do want to hear about that."

"Right…" Rydia had a look of realization on her face she suddenly facepalmed, "Edge is going to be here, isn't he?"

"That is correct."

"This is going to be a looooooooong day…"

* * *

"Oy, Bartz!"

As he turned away from the ocean to face the voice, he was smacked hard with wet rag that knocked him off his feet.

Faris walked up to the man-child, a proud (best rag toss she'd performed yet!) but stern expression on her face.

"Mrphm, hrmh Frahfas." He responded, rag still stuck on his face.

The pirate bent down to him, a sweet expression on her face as she asked, "Do you remember the deal we made to have you and you're mangy Chocobo aboard."

He removed the rag from his face, "No?"

"If you're going hitch a ride with my crew, yah have to work like my crew." Faris shoved the discarded rag back to Bartz, "Now swab the decks."

Bartz moaned as he grabbed a bucket of water and went to work.

The adventures of Bartz Klauser never seem to end! He had scoured much of the land and even the seas and skies! Nothing could stop him on his never ending journey…

…except, yah know, the seas. Boko isn't exactly a Gold Chocobo, so they often ended up stuck for awhile when they had to cross them.

Thankfully, now-a-days they had Faris and her crew of pirates to hitch a ride with. Faris's words were law among them, so the pirates didn't really have any say in matter…

…not that it was a problem in the first place, but still. They enjoyed messing with the 22-year old man-child too much to refuse. Their favorite game with Bartz was 'Get fruit boy drunk off his ass".

Faris was a woman with dark blonde hair tied in a ponytail and stone-brown eyes. She wore a red gold embroidered red shirt underneath sleeveless knee-length black coat with gold armor covering her arms.

She watched the brunette man-child with a contemplative look on her face as she watched him work. _'It's at times like this that I really want to know where he goes on these little escapades. It actually kind of worries me that he never seems to have the adult supervision that kept him from getting killed in our adventure.'_

Meanwhile, Bartz was thinking: _'I wonder how Boko is doing. Faris took ownership of Koko, so the two of them are probably just 'getting it on'. I can't believe that all this time, it WAS possible to mount female Chocobos. And here I thought I knew everything there is to know about them. I wonder why dad lied about that. I tried asking him during that brief time he and the other Dawn Warriors helped during the final battle with Exdeath, but he just said something about being worried about my obsession."_

* * *

Little did any of them know that the person in the black coat had watched all of this; preparing to make his first move on each of them. After observing the five champions and their friends and calculating ways to further his goals, he decided to leave them for now and move on to the other five.

The man was preparing to pay Mobliz a visit next; and with it, Terra Branford. The man knew little about this particular Warrior of Cosmos, other than the fact she was the one that saved the other warriors from falling into Chaos's darkness and that she had incredibly powerful magic that even she never managed to fully control.

These facts intrigued him, so he was looking forward to stalk- I mean- observing her. Just then, he heard his Smartphone ringing; he had received a text message. The man retrieved it from his pocket saw that it was from none other than his boss. He checked the phone and it read:

_World VI is in danger of erasure. Please follow the instructions below to correct this irregularity._

The hooded figure looked confused upon reading the full explanation. _'That world doesn't have magic, huh...__.'_

He grinned from underneath the coat, _'This could get interesting…'  
_

* * *

**Be sure to review! Constructive criticism will be appreciated. Be sure to pm me if you have questions. Next chapter might not take as along since FFVI is my favorite in the series and Terra my favorite protagonist. For record, my favorite games in the series that I have played so far are I, IV, VI, VII (though I do think it _is_ very overrated), and IX.**


	5. Those Who Did The Impossible Part 2

**Neo Dissidia Final Fantasy: A New World, A New War**

**Chapter 5: Those That Did The Impossible 2**

* * *

**Author's Note: Behold! I have returned! Sorry this took so long, but Finals are keeping me very busy. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the _Final Fantasy_ franchise a Happy Birthday! This fic is a sort of love letter to the series, so I guess this could count.**

**Update: 2/25/13: The names of the White Mage and Thief characters changed to reflect the ones given in the official novelization. Didn't change the Black Mage character's, however; Daewoo is ridiculous and I like Zok. Changes also made regarding the number of kids in Mobliz after I had revisted the game.**

**Now sit back and enjoy!**

* * *

_I am in the dark, gloomy, metallic gray cell that I refer to as my room; hunched over a desk and working on some schoolwork. When I'm not brought into a pit full of monsters and forced to use my powers to fight for my life or being subjected to experimentation (it's not very…nice), I have to learn the 'basic curriculum for soldiers of the empire.' Even though I am just being raised a tool of war (a fact Lord Kefka never hesitated to drill into my head), getting some sort of education was necessary so I could help my superiors._

_But I honestly would prefer this much more to fighting were it not for what happens if I don't finish it in time- and that's often since I only have 4 out of the 18 hours I spend awake to devote to it. Frankly, it's amazing that I do as well as I do (though that's mainly because I don't have a choice in the matter. It's do or be…'punished'.)_

_Having now finished my Math schoolwork, I hauled the giant tome off to the right and went to retrieve a book of the same size from the left for the last subject for the day- Astronomy. The Empire makes me learn strictly math and science based courses; no English based ones. I…would honestly prefer more Literature and Grammar courses (I was only taught how to read- which Lord Kefka 'helped' me accomplished by 'encouraging' me when I messed up, and how to write just well enough for it to be eligible), but I shouldn't say so since if I even so much as whisper that- Lord Kefka would have me thrown into the dungeons- and there are security cameras everywhere, so I have to be constantly on guard._

_Though honestly, the dungeons aren't very different from my room anyway. Both are dark, dreary and metallic gray, both have only a basic, uncomfortable bed, and are barred so I can't get out. I used to try to blast it open with my Fire spells, but they don't work- apparently they're heavily fortified specifically to deal with anything I can do. Eventually, my powers started to go a little out of control so I had to give up on escaping._

_At some point, I fell asleep my desk, having (hopefully, with all my work done as I tried to answer those partictlar questions that take me time to answer- time I don't have)._

_I have plenty of questions I ask myself each day: Why do they keep me here? Why do they treat me more as an animal that needs to be trained than a human being? Why do they let Lord Kefka torture and do…I don't know it's called, but also do that to me a daily to weekly basis?!_

_And most importantly…what's the reason I'm still alive: just so I can feel more pain?_

_But deep down I know the answer. It was on that day five years ago (I'm 10 right now) when the Emperor passed on my guardianship to Lord Kefka._

_Before then, life wasn't as bad. I was still experimented on and I still had to fight (though back then it was just basic training robots), but I had my friend Celes there and General Leo was my guardian (a lot nicer than Lord Kefka)._

_Then everything went downhill after Lord Kefka was given power over me. Right afterwards, he 'cranked up my training to the max' and things just got worse and worse ever since. I never even see Celes or Leo anymore._

_I'll never forget what he did with me that day._

_He took me to his 'playroom', and then proceeded to knock me all across the room. When he finally stopped, I tried asking him why he did that to me, he slapped and scolded me for questioning my master. But he did give me an answer- one I'll never forget:_

"Because, my pretty, you are my plaything- my favorite **doll**! And when I play, I play ROUGH. You better get used to it, my pet, because you're going to be my toy **forever**!"

_Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to my cell; it must be Kefka. I quickly tried to make myself look invisible; but being the only colorful thing in the room, that proved to be impossible._

"_Oh, Teerrrrrraaaaaa!" The Mad Mage sang as he skipped into the room, a sadistic grin on his face. He examined the room, looking for me. It only took him a second to find me, but he continued to look around to toy with my fears; giving me a disturbing smile whenever he looked in my direction. He slowly walked in my direction, enjoying the taste of my terror as much as possible._

_I could only sit there crouched in the corner; hoping that at least I did well enough on the test that he wouldn't do thing where he- no; don't want to think about it. Then he finally came to a stop right in front of me and grabbed me by the throat._

"_Geh-guh…" I tried breaking out of his hold, Kefka was too strong._

_His sadistic grin became an outright maniacal smile. "THERE you are! Now then, __**let's take a look at your work.**__" He sat me down, tied me to the chair I had sat upon just minutes ago, and gagged me so I couldn't talk. I could only watch as he browsed my work, trying to find anything I did wrong that he could use as an excuse to punish me. _

_The room went dead quiet. The only sound that I could hear was my own heartbeat. It was maddening; for all I knew I could either be subjected to what Lord Kefka refers to as 'detention' (I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty that his meaning of the word is _very_ different from everyone else's), or just go off with 'extra training'. _

_There was also the chance I could get away scot-free if Mr. - I mean, _General_ Leo catches Lord Kefka in the attempt either way (that only happens once or twice a year , so probably no)._

_Then I could see Lord Kefka's face contort with frustration- I must have gotten everything right. Looks like I won't get 'detention' this time…_

…_But then a disturbing smile came across his face. It's never good for me when he smiles like that. Then let out one of his signature laughs-I'm doomed._

"_Well done my pretty!" He laughed. He turned to me and forcefully tore me from the ropes binding me; the skin on my arms either suffering horribly rope-burns or scratched open by the sheer force used. As they started healing (apparently, my body heals itself at a much faster rate than other people), Lord Kefka brought me right next to his face, where he whispered into my ear in a way that made my skin crawl-_

"_It seems that you are almost done with your 'education'." Then he looked me straight into my eyes and continued- eyes and smile widening as he said this, "Soon, we'll be getting to the FUN part of your combat training too!"_

_I paled a bit at that. I hate fighting; I don't like hurting living things. I'm told I'm really _good _at it, but I still don't like it._

_Everytime I fight, at some point my magic starts to feel like it's overflowing and this sensation overcomes me and I get into this weird trance. It feels like something much more powerful within me wants to come out but can't; so it just makes me feel really unstable and makes my powers go haywire (like casting a spell when I didn't mean to or more power going into my magic than I should be capable of with devastating results). _

_It doesn't feel good and tends to make my mind hurt. Nevertheless, I'm literally thrown into a pit to kill monsters anyway (it's Kefka's primary method of training me)- so at this point I've become okay with killing them. But this 'fun part' Lord Kefka mentioned made me really uneasy._

_Kefka then started dragging me out of my room and took me to his 'playroom' right across my living chamber. I started panicking- this could only mean-!_

"_Now it's time for some 'extra work' to help you review…"_

_I tried as hard as I could to get away, but he would just grip me until it started causing me a lot of pain. I ultimately just bowed my head obediently in defeat as he took in there and-_

* * *

"No…no! Please… stop! No… get away… no…NO!" Terra woke up with a start, finding herself in a cold sweat. _'Just a dream?'_ she thought, but shook her head, _'I wish it was. It's another one of_ those_ memories.'_

Just to make sure, the former half-Esper gave the room a check-over. Terra's room was relatively simple, with a wood floor with brown-red rugs and red and orange painted walls. Her bed was a King-sized (so that if 1 or 2 of her younger kids needed to sleep with her for whatever reason, they'd have room). As far as furniture went, she didn't have too much. She had a nightstand by her bed and a dresser-drawer with a vanity mirror in the southwest corner from her bed. She also had a simple closet where she hung her shirts and dresses.

It has been 3 years since the Fall of Kefka, but the scars he left in Terra's psyche would likely never truly heal. He was sick, sadistic man by the time he was given guardianship over her that went out of his way to make the eight years prior to her freedom a living hell.

He was the only person Terra ever truly hated- she had even managed to forgive Gesthal after his death proved Kefka to be worse than he ever was.

She looked at the old clock at the end of her room and decided that she had got enough sleep for the night anyway. She got herself untangled from her white silk-sheets with gold-colored floral designs (a gift from Celes for Christmas since Terra refused to spend anything on herself) and red and pink-striped comforter and went into her drawers to get some clothes on.

She chose her favorite outfit (the one she wears in Dissidia (she wears a version of her in-game attire from FFVI like her Alt 1 outfit when she has green hair)) out of the 8 she had (retrieved from her old cell in Vector before the World of Balance ended) and quickly put everything on.

Just in case of a monster attack, Terra also had put on a Minerva Bustier bra-breastplate for armor and had sheathes containing her special sword and a dagger strapped on her waist. With all that done, she went downstairs; ready to start a new day.

Terra got to preparing breakfast for the kids and Katarin (more on that later) upon reaching the kitchen. Her plan for today was pancakes- whatever kind they wanted (except chocolate). She intended to fix normal Buttermilk and Blueberry, though she was considering trying her hand at Cherry.

As she started making the batter (with a pretty huge bowl given that she had to make enough for 13 people) she heard a pair of footsteps coming from upstairs. She turned around and saw a tired-looking Duane, one the two oldest orphans along with his wife and a father, and an exhausted Relm with Interceptor at her heels, who now lived with Terra and her bunch after Strago died a year prior.

Duane was strong but lanky young man 19 years of age. He had natural dark gray hair and brown eyes so dark they seemed black. He wore a simple white shirt with a red vest.

Relm was a now 14-year old teen with blue eyes and golden blonde hair in a small straight ponytail. Her appearance was a little more mature since 3 years ago. She still wore a black tube top with baggy yellow pants, and a large yellow and light purple hat with circular designs. The only change really was that she ditched the small yellow cape and now wore a green jacket in its place.

"Good morning Duane, Relm." Terra said, to which the two groggily responded with a weak "Morning" in return. "I take you had a hard time sleeping last night?"

Duane seemed too tired to respond, but Relm did answer. "I've been working on finishing a commission for Ownzer." She explained, trying to look more cheerful and active than she really was.

Terra didn't buy it. "…How long were you working?"

"Umm… I don't know."

Terra facepalmed, "You spent the entire night working on it again, didn't you?"

"…Maybe?"

"Go to bed- now." Terra commanded, her motherly instincts taking charge.

Relm tried to protest and say she was fine (she is one of those kids who strongly resist going to bed), but seeing that that wasn't a request: it was a _demand_; she saw she wouldn't win the argument that would've followed so she just asked, "How long do I get?"

"Three hours; that should give you enough time to get some rest without screwing up your sleep schedule." Terra answered, now having finished making the batter and was moving onto putting in the blueberries and cherries needed in for the other two types after having split the batter into two more bowls.

Terra wasn't actually sure if that would be enough, but Relm would have to learn to better manage her time anyway, so she would simply have to deal with it for today.

Relm just nodded tiredly and went off to her room, Interceptor nudging her along to her room. Ever since his original owner died, the hound had become very protective over the girl and her wellbeing and Terra knew he would make sure Relm took the time she needed to rest. Meanwhile, Duane moved to help Terra with the cooking to make things go faster. When Terra tried to ask what kept him up, he answered with, "A morning sick wife and a 3 year old daughter." and left it at that.

Terra nodded sympathetically. They both remembered how difficult Katarin's first pregnancy was and knew that the only reason this one would be better was because they had a better idea of what to do now.

Soon enough, they had finished just in time for to wake up the younger orphans and come down. As she went upstairs to wake everyone else up, Terra once again thought how lucky she was to have met all of them.

'_It's almost hard to imagine that without these children, I'd still be a mere doll unable to love. That's why I stayed here; the place where I belong, so I can give them the love they awakened in me. That's why I'll always be there- to protect them from the horrors that still plague this world even after that monster's death.'_

'_Even with the hole still there from losing half of myself (even it's really only a very small part of me that misses it; the Esper was so hard to control that I'm conflicted as to why): so long as I'm here, I'll do whatever I can…'_

Outside the main house, the Hooded Figure looked on from the window. Seeing this, he didn't feel like interfering directly yet. He wanted to make the process as easy and comfortable as possible.

So instead, he used the power given to him by his boss to bring the 'keys to restoration' not far outside the small little village where the girl would sense them and hopefully use them to bring back that crucial power to this world…

"If she doesn't for whatever reason, not only will her world will crumble when the fusion reaches completion, but she will be unable to protect what she holds dear from the storm to follow."

With that, he pulled out a vaguely key-like blade that looked as if it were made of crystal. It was light-blue with a bright orange hilt and had teeth on both sides of it and a line down the middle all of the same color. Its shape kind of resembled a modern house key, only much longer and thinner.

He shot a beam from it and opened up a portal of light to take him to his next destination…

* * *

Back in what will soon formerly be known as World A, the five Warriors of Light we left last chapter were searching for Sauber in order to join him on his mission to save his brother anew in this new timeline.

When they reached the Port Outpost they had docked their ship at, they noticed two things.

"WHERE THE HELL IS OUR SHIP!" the irate Zok screamed. It had taken them 2 days to get through the Zok-hungry insect filled forest to make it to the outpost from their previous position.

Needless to say, the Black Mage wasn't in a happy mood even before they got there, so the reaction was not unexpected.

The outposts were established by traders looking to make a quick buck by making adventurers pay rent in return for keeping their ships safe and secure from monsters while they're gone. Eventually, though, they then began to double as shops, then finally, they evolved into the motels of the seafaring world.

Back on subject; the rest of the warriors weren't very happy with this either, but were much less vocal about it. The Warrior and Gill soon moved onto investigating the scene of the supposed crime.

Meanwhile…

"Zok, put the Flare spell down, NOW!"

"_**NO… Something. Must. BURN.**_" The Black Mage was now close to barbequing the whole forest, holding the burning orange nuke at the ready.

Floe was trying to dissuade Zok and calm him down, but the only thing she was accomplishing at the moment was delaying him.

"Wouldn't Flare just nuke the targeted area instead of burning all of it?" Walz commented.

"Thank you for the advice." Zok then changed the Flare into a Firaja.

"Oh, COME ON! That spell isn't even in the game!" Walz cried in indignation.

"Zok," Floe intervened, putting a hand on the irate mage's shoulder and slightly calming him down, "Do you even know what's going to happen if you do that?"

"My rage will be sedated and the ####ing forest and its horrible insects will DIE!"

"So will you, Sherlock!"

"No-no-no," Zok turned his head back towards the White Mage and shook his head at her (he didn't dispel the Firaja, though), "We are OUT of the forest right now; the insects are IN it. Where does me (and you people) dying come in?"

"Yes, but the smoke from that fire will choke us to death afterwards."

"We could just wade it out in the Outpost." He tried to counter.

"The smoke would still leak in."

The Black Mage paused. He tried thinking of another counter argument, but failed to find one.

"Crap…" the Black Mage gave up; dispelling the Firaja and falling to his knees; still trying to get a hold of his raging emotions.

"Zok…Zok…Zok…" the White Mage chanted soothingly, the sweet tone in her voice soothing her partner's rage.

While this was happening, the Warrior spoke to the outpost's owner at the port station; seeing if he knew anything about the ships disappearance. However, it didn't take long for Gill to spot a note hanging on one of the trees nearby.

"Warrior!" She called over, getting his attention and drawing him out of his conversation with the manager. She motioned towards the tree and led him to the note, the other warriors following suit.

"_Dear Fellow Light Warriors,"_ Gill read, _"Sorry to leave you hanging if you planned on changing your minds, but I'm going to go retrieve the Airship again. We already got the Levistone back during our search, so hopefully it won't take too long._

_Please don't kill me for this,_

_Prince Sauber of Elfheim._

"That son of bitch." The Black Mage commented to his female Red Mage comrade, who nodded in agreement.

"Damn him!" Walz yelled, punching a whole tree down in frustration and alarming the other Warriors of Light in question.

As Floe once again tried to calm one of her friends down, the Warrior merely shook his head and frowned. "Guess we're stuck here for now."

"Know any good stories?" Gill asked; sarcasm heavily laced in her words. However, the Warrior decided to take her seriously.

"Actually…"

* * *

Seventh Heaven… the ultimate bar of the Final Fantasy series. By that, I mean it's one of the few bars that are actually named in the series along with Turtle's Paradise of the same game, Ruby's Tavern from FFIX, the Queen's Bounty Parlor from FFIV. And since it IS Final Fantasy VII (even its crap is golden) and has the most relevant role (much better reasoning), this is not an overstatement.

…And yet, it's closing. Why? Surely the great food and service along the good booze would keep it thriving for years to- okay, let's be honest: Tifa and (to many of her male customers) her boobs is the only reason most people come.

But this has nothing to do with the bar's profits or such: it's because Cloud and the gang are moving away. Sometime after Sephiroth's brief revival 3 years ago, Denzel started having asthma attacks as an aftereffect of the Geostigma. The doctor suggested moving somewhere with a fresher cleaner that would make things easier for him and perhaps even help him recover.

And so we have Cloud at his room at Seventh Heaven, packing away his belongings. Cloud was wearing... I don't think I should actually need to explain since this FFVII: the game everyone seems to love for one reason or another but was kind of ruined for me because of how much Square has milked the living tar out of it (still up there with my favorites, though the minigames suck major ass which makes it lose points. Still up there with VI and IX).

Where was I again? Right, I remember now. Cloud was wearing his "Cloudy Wolf" attire minus that (second definition) emo arm-scarf thing that just needs to die and rot in hell.

"Almost done Cloud?" Tifa asked, carrying a box herself. She was also wearing her post-FFVII attire- but it should be noted she still wears her old outfit underneath. She had also grown her hair out back to the way it was back then as well.

Cloud nodded, "Yeah…" He looked across the bar, reminiscing over the times they had in it, "Just can't believe that after all this time, we're leaving Edge for good."

Tifa nodded, "Yeah… I've given it to Johnny to look after for me. I trust him to keep things running."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"You know, Johnny. That guy who used to be a neighbor of ours in Nibelheim; a loyal patron of the old bar and former rival barkeep before he went out business?"

"Ah, that guy. Didn't he propose to that one girl? What happened there?"

Tifa shrugged, "Got shot down. It's a shame too, he's a nice guy."

Cloud paused for a second, scratching his chin in contemplation before responding with a sigh, "You know, if you really want to, you could go out with him." He looked at her with a serious look in his eyes, "I've noticed that our relationship isn't exactly stable: we're more along the line of 'best friends with benefits' nowadays." He abandoned the seriousness and let a snort at that, "Heck, we haven't even used the 'benefits' part since that one time…"

"Because we agreed not to do so until we know for sure who we want to be with." The brawler remarked blankly.

"Right, but still…please answer the question: do you want to go out with him?"

Tifa shook her head, "Nah, he's not my type. Besides, unless you find someone else you like, there's still a chance things still could work out…"

Cloud smirked, "That's true, but if I do- find another girl, I mean?"

Tifa smirked back, "Then I guess I'd be on the market." She frowned for a second, before commenting, "I don't know how well that would work, though. The thought makes me nervous."

Cloud waved it off, "I'm sure if it did come down to it, you'd be fine. You have great-" Cloud paused, thinking about how he wanted to word it, before continuing, "…assets; and are smart and tough enough to get out of sticky situations if necessary."

Tifa smiled, "Thanks, Cloud."

Cloud continued, "I'll promise you this: no matter what haappens with our relationship- whetever we get back together or just stay friends- I'll always be there for you."

Tifa gave the blonde not-SOLDIER a hug.

"I hope you don't mind me interrupting," a girl with shortcut red hair, fairly pale skin, and blue Mako eyes cut in, "But don't we have some more packing to do? The others and I already finished."

"Sorry Shelke." The two responded simultaneously. With that, the former Tsviet exited the room and left them to their work. Tifa cleared her throat after she was gone and added, "Also, we could still come back after Denzel recovers."

Cloud nodded and the two went back to work for real this time.

Meanwhile, the Hooded Man was actually in the same room as the duo. However, he had made himself invisible using a Materia he had 'borrowed' from Yuffie's stash. Coincidently, the three Master Materia (or at least one set of them) were also 'borrowed' at this time.

After seeing that nothing interesting was going to happen, he exited the building and went towards a local shop to purchase some 'special' chocolate…

Midgar after Meteorfall had become completely uninhabitable due to the Mako leaks left from where the reactors once stood and wouldn't be able to support life for hundreds of years. The area around it (such as Edge), however, has started to become fertile again, especially after the effects of Aerith's Great Gospel during the Second Advent ended up healing some of the land (wasn't intentional, but not unappreciated).

However, they would still have to go farther out for Denzel's treatment to work. Luckily (or maybe unluckily), the little Man in Black (not Golbez) had just the right destination in mind for them: one that would help reunite one of World B's Golden trios…

* * *

Firion and party had finally made it to the town the survivors had taken shelter in and gave them the okay to return to their village.

As they went on their way, one of these people, an old bald man with red hair pounced on the Weaponmaster with a look of pure gratitude on his face and a started making out with him, "Thank you kind sirs (and lady)! You truly are lifesavers!"

Firion shoved the creeper away and brushed himself off. He turned back to glare at the man, "What is _wrong_ with you!"

"Eh?" The old man himself got up, "Aren't you Maria of the Rebel Roses?"

Guy silently rolled his eyes at the 'team name' his best friend had chosen for them. _'Really, Firion. Rebel Roses? Way to make it obvious we were part of the Wild Rose Rebellion…I swear, it's like you have some sort of sick rose obsession."_

Firion looked appalled, "…are you serious? Do I even look like a woman?"

"Yes."

The young rebel could hear his friends' laughter from behind him as he sighed, "NO. I'm not Maria…" turning back to the others, he gave his adoptive sister a grin before responding, "But she is; and, she's single…"

Maria paused, "Wait what-"

The old man then turned his attention the purple-haired maiden with a lecherous smile gracing his features, "Oh, my…! How could I have mixed you two up! Hardly fair to you, dear lady, as Firion looked more like a transvestite compared to your immense beauty…"

He went up to her and started kissing up her arm, but when he got to her face and tried to French kiss her Maria kicked him in the nuts!

Maria glared fiercely at the man's recoiled form, her eyes shining with outrage and embarrassment, "You sick little fu-"

"Mister!" Guy shouted, lightly shoving Maria out of the way to make his case, "If you don't get to your point, things could get messy so you should really just say it."

"Right…" The old man responded weakly. He got himself up and cleared his throat before answering, "My name is Cletus- Mayor of the proud little town you liberated for us."

The Rebel Roses shared an 'Oh ####' look and tried to apologize, "Look, we're kind of sorry-"

"Darn toot'n you should be sorry!" Cletus snapped. He cooled off for second, "But I may be willing to let this by if dear Maria here offered to be my mistress for the day…"

The sound of the blood-curdling scream that flowed could be heard all through the newly expanded world…

* * *

Cloud paused from carrying his last package and looked up at the sky for a second, as if sensing something.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked, breaking from loading her belongings for a second to address the not-SOLIDER.

"My 'Don Corneo-grade pervert senses are tingling…"

Tifa raised an eyebrow but other than that, she just went back to work. She figured Cloud may have been more affected by the incident since he was the one the Don chose when he came with Aerith cross-dressing to save her. The thought made her snicker a bit at the memory; and she still had the dress that was used for the disguise (left to her by Aerith prior to her passing).

* * *

The Rebel Roses have now received their payment (which the Mayor's pissed off wife insisted they take) and prepared to stalk up on supplies before heading to their next adventure.

"Excuse me," a youthful voice asked from behind. The trio turned around to find a relatively small (5 ft, 2 in) young man in a black coat addressing them, his hands behind his back, "I heard about what you did to help that town and wanted to give you something for your troubles."

He then revealed the box of chocolates he was holding behind his back and gave them to Firion. "Thanks." The young rebel replied.

The Black-Coated man smiled from beneath his hood, "I got them from a secret admirer of yours, Firion, and asked to deliver them especially for you." And with that, he walked off. You could barely hear him snickering from afar.

"Alright, let's try them out." Firion was about to take out a piece for himself before Maria smacked his hand away.

Firion looked at her annoyed before she explained, "You shouldn't be so careless about gifts you get from strangers. Remember when you ate that drumstick a 'fan' gave and it turned out to be poison?"

The Weapons Specialist cringed at the memory, "Alright, but what if it isn't? For all we know, it could be perfectly safe."

"True…" Maria thought it over for a moment. She snapped her fingers and answered, "I know just what to do! Would you mind handing it over for a second?"

Firion nodded and gave her the chocolates. "Thank you. Now then…" Maria then cast Esuna on them, the light green healing energy coursing through the delectable delights for a second before stopping. Upon noticing that no additional effect was occurring, she handed them back.

"What was that for?" the Rebel Rose leader asked, a bit puzzled at the more magic-oriented member of the team.

"It's a little trick I figured out after that chicken meat incident. By casting Esuna, any poisons within would be purged. It leaves a tiny aftertaste, but it works. I still recommend only having a few for now though just in case."

"Hey, guys," Guy interjected, "I finished getting our stuff. Can we go back to the Inn now?"

The other two nodded and the trio set off…after Firion had a couple pieces of the chocolate.

The Hooded Man looked on this scene with a sense of satisfaction. The chocolates weren't actually _poisoned_ per say. He then left through another portal to another destination, laughing all the way…

* * *

Paperwork, paperwork, PAPERWORK!

That seemed to be all that Squall seemed to do now; much to his displeasure.

The SeeD Commander (technically also the headmaster of Balamb Garden, but he let Quistis take care of that part) was currently absorbed in the stuff. This was one of his least favorite parts of the job, but one he learned to do very efficiently. As he toiled away, he reflected on the events following the end of their adventure.

At first, the fighter at heart had considered just giving up the post all together after he and his friends defeated the Time Sorceress Ultimecia four years ago; but one thing drove him to keep the position:

It was his lover, the Sorceress Rinoa.

After seeing the extremes that the government of Esthar made to make sure she couldn't become a monster like Ultimecia or Adel, Squall knew that the best way to protect her was to keep the position. Thankfully, this seemed to work, as the threats against her had decreased since Ultimecia's defeat (mostly because she was one of the people responsible for the witch's demise) and it seemed that Rinoa would stay the same and not go down such a path.

Anyway, Rinoa had officially joined shortly after Ultimecia's death so she could be closer to Squall. She had graduated and completed this transition about a year ago and now was part of the special forces unit the White SeeDs.

Since Ellone and Edea no longer needed protecting, this new role for this sub-branch seemed fitting given their expert skill set, and because they answered only to the Commander (Squall), it meant the couple could keep close to each other so Squall could continue be her Sorceress Knight.

'_So yeah; it's been just more of the same, only wrapped differently.'_ Squall commented to himself. The Commander now looked more like a certain alternate version of himself: only lankier and with his outfit looking more similar to his Dissidia attire.

"Squallie!" he could hear his girlfriend calling. Seconds later, the young woman herself entered the office with a big smile on her face. Her body looked more matured, but her attire and demeanor stayed the same as it was the end of the game.

"Back from your mission?" Squall asked, not looking up to face yet as he finished his work.

"Yep! It wasn't too hard. We just had to protect that one girl…" She frowned a bit, "Just because she was a sorceress like me…it sucks."

Squall nodded sympathetically. Life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for her since she became a sorceress, but it could have been much worse so she could count her blessings for that.

She proceeded to sit on one of the chairs in front of me and flexed herself tiredly. "Welp, I'm bored."

'_Saw that coming.'_ Squall thought to himself.

"I don't any missions on the line for the week and everyone else is on one of their own right now..."

"So?"Squall asked, still absorbed in his work.

Rinoa looked a bit annoyed, but shrugged it off and continued,"So…you don't have anything planned, would to maybe go on a date?"

Squall shrugged, "Sure. But not right now, I still have some paperwork to finish up before then.

Rinoa pouted, but complied. Squall always kept his word, so she had nothing to worry about. Maybe she'd check up on that girl they rescued…

The two shared a quick kiss and Rinoa went off.

The hooded man was there, once again keeping himself invisible. He was rather bored by what he saw and soon moved on.

At least he got a taste of Rinoa's sorceress powers while he was there. He could feel how powerful that magic aura was, and wondered how powerful Terra's is supposed to be since his employer mentioned that her magic was possibly even stronger.

He took note of this and left to go to his final stops before he was allowed to get the chessboard set for the boss…

* * *

Meanwhile...

"Hooowaa!"

Maria and Guy were patiently waiting for their brother to come out of the outhouse, but were disgusted by the pained cries of their brother as he took care of business. Maria looked like she going to puke.

Guy cringed at the latest noise to come out of there and clutched at his temples, "What the hell was in those chocolates...?"

* * *

**Author's Note: ...Wow. That begining flashback sequence nay be the darkest thing I've ever written.**

**Join us next time for the final part of Those Who Did The Impossible, where we reunited with last Warriors of Cosmos (until at least XI (yes, XI; I'll do my best given what kind of game it is) and XII are ready and _Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII_ comes out.**

**As always, be sure to review! Criticism is appreciated so long as it is constructive.**


	6. Those That Did The Impossible Part 3

**Neo Dissidia Final Fantasy: A New World, A New War**

**Chapter 6: Those That Did The Impossible 3**

* * *

**Author's Note: 1/16/2013: Took longer than was originally expected (for reasons I'll get to in a bit), but here it is! Chapter 6: the final _Those That Did The Impossible_ chapter. I think the timing on publishing this was spot on because this way it won't be overwhelmed the release/new chapters of other stories in this section. Last time was bad timing on my part.**

**Work on Chapter 7 is well underway- but I can't promise it will be released soon. I finally have a Beta of sorts (within my family) to help me check mistakes in grammar and wording, but said Beta is still recovering from a surgery he/she had a few weeks ago, so yeah...**

**I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but I'd like to thank the fellow authors who have favorited and/or are following this story: Raven the Blood witch, mjlaub, Lady Rabenschwarz, and Fushia Flame. It's always great chatting with you after a review and having your support as I trudge along with this baby! Hope to see more of you guys! :D**

**Ah, and if you're wondering why there is a review from me for this fic... it was an accident. I didn't think that it would actually post it, so now I can't get rid of it. Just ignore that or treat it as a humorous quip.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

Luneth and Arc, having finished breakfast, were now en route to the local library.

"Hey-hey-hey-hey-!"

"What IS IT?!" Luneth screamed, turning towards his little brother in annoyance. He hated it when Arc got hyper like this- and a little bit of hyper Arc can go a long way…

Arc didn't seem fazed, but did take it as a queue to get to the point, "Did you know there's a new book at the library now?"

"Really?" Luneth questioned. They both liked reading, but Arc did it on a religious level. Luneth was smart, but Arc was in a league of his own. The difference is that Luneth had much more commonsense than his brother. _'That explains why he's so worked up…'_ he thought to himself.

Arc nodded vigorously, "Yep! And it's a big one! I'll be good for weeks with that b-"

Before Arc could finish, however, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, a hole in space opened up in the middle of town; causing the townsfolk to panic. Luneth went into Onion Knight mode and Arc went into Scholar mode (DS Version) and the two went off to investigate.

Then, as suddenly as the hole opened up, two large arms burst out and their owner, a big guy in a red hood (do I need to tell you who this is?) popped out. The man didn't seem to be in the best shape, however, as he seemed to have several sword, claw, and bite wounds on his body, his pupil-less eyes twitching, and he seemed to be trembling- whether in fear, exhaustion, starvation, or desperation is unknown (probably all of the above). All and all, he seemed a bit unhinged at the moment.

The man gave a wide grin, "_BARTZ! WE MEET AGAI-_ wait…" he simmered down, disappointment in his features, "Where's Bartz?" The figure looked around confused. He scratched his head, "I could have sworn I sensed him when I came through…"

Luneth looked at him apprehensively, unsure about how to approach this new development. _'This guy looks tough. Things could get hairy if I don't do anything. What we need is a coordinated plan of atta-'_

"Who are you?" Arc asked innocently, oblivious to the likely threat the man posed.

'_Or just walk up to him mindlessly and possibly be attacked on sight. Brilliant.'_ Luneth thought to himself, facepalming. _'Then again, maybe I'm just being overly paranoid. He hasn't done anything that constitutes a threat. Perhaps that was the way to approach this.'_

"Buzz off, child! Can't you see I'm busy…?" As he turned around to face them, he suddenly found his gaze transfixed on the Onion Knight; a vague recognition coming to him.

"Um…" The two Warriors of Light looked at him expectantly, wanting him to continue. He just kept staring at Luneth. You could see the gears turning in his head. _'Why am I now thinking I was right the first time?'_ the red-head thought to himself.

'_Hrm… didn't I hear something about Bartz once traveling in that 'World B' place with another group of like-minded individuals to save the world or an event similar to such? Wasn't one of them an Onion Knight like this kid?'_

"Hey…" the man finally said in a wavering tone, pointing at Luneth, "Were you not one of Bartz's friends?"

Luneth raised an eyebrow, "Who's Ba-?"

The red-hooded man grabbed the kid by his shoulders and started shaking him around- that premonition Luneth had about the man being dangerous finally coming into fruition. "You MUST know where he is! Where's Bartz, kid?"

"I-don't-know!" Luneth shouted, trying to free himself.

The man's features and tone just became more frantic, "Now don't you lie to ME, little man! WHERE IS HE?!"

His grip on Luneth tightened, causing the boy to cry out in pain, "S-stop!"

"I'll have you know I'm in a very foul mood right now, child. I've gone through countless realms since I last saw him- the last one was some kind of sick yaoi-yuri world!- and no little punk is going to get in my way! WHERE IS HE?!" the man-like fiend threw him to the ground in frustration . He sighed, "Fine…if that's how you're going to play it, I'll just have to beat it out of you!" He got into a fighting pose and summoned his naginata to his hands.

Arc stood up to face him, a tome in his hands as he prepared his assault, "You leave big brother alone, Mr. Stink Pants!"

The man looked upon him and snorted, "Get real, little boy. Last I checked, Scholars aren't exactly known for being mighty warriors and are subpar as sorcerers. What could you possibly do?"

"This." Arc chanted something from the book and a black, flaming beam of non-elemental energy shot itself from a portal that opened beside him; blasting the man into the wall of a nearby house.

The man looked at the boy (from his new position in a crater on a wall) in shock! "HEY! That's not something a Scholar should be able to do! They can merely scan out an opponent and use low-level magic- not use _Shadow Flare_! That's a Blue Mage and Geomancer spell!"

The boy didn't know what a 'Blue Mage' was, but simply responded by shrugging it off and answering, "I can use Geomancer stuff to too… I don't know why, but I can." His eyes briefly glazed over, "I have to use some of my own magic power to do it, unlike the Geomancer class, but I can."

"Interesting…" The man removed himself from the wall and returned his glare onto the boy, a serious look once again on his face, "Looks like this will be a worthy battle after all…"

Red-hood ran up to the boy in a scholar's robes and brutally backhanded him and sent him flying. Arc landed ten feet away and was rendered unconscious.

Amusedly, the perpetrator himself seemed horrified, "Holy shit, I did I really just kill an innocent child?!" he scratched his chin in thought, "I don't think I've done something like that since when I-ack!"

A stream of meteorites bombarded the red-garbed man in retaliation, his attacker yelling in fury at him, "_You rotten BASTARD_!"

He now knew never to mess with someone's younger brother when the elder is still around.

The man roared in pain, the flaming rocks beginning to overwhelm him in response to the caster's fury as the boy spun around in midair as he continued to use the spell. When it stopped, the red-armored man glared at the boy, making Luneth flinch for a second as the man cried out in rage, "Why you! I ought to fry you into onion rings, you little brat!"

"Luneth!"

The Onion Knight turned around and saw his foster mother carrying his foster brother away from the battlefield. The two shared a nod as she took the blonde boy back home.

Luneth smiled a bit, glad his brother was okay. "Now then…" he turned back to his opponent, a determined spark in his eyes as he got back into fighting stance.

The polka-dot pants wearing man did the same, "For the record, I apologize for knocking out your brother. However, if you know what's good for you, you better answer. Where. Is. _Bartz?!_" he roared.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The boy intensified his glare, "But if you want a fight, you have one! I won't let you cause more trouble around here!"

The man laughed, "Foolish boy! You do not face any average swordsman, you face me: the living legend, the Eternal Swordsmen, the Hero of Time, the key that connects everything, the sexiest man in all the worlds, GILGAMESH!" He then drew another sword, this one being a red and gold hued great sword with a relatively thin blade, his fighting stance becoming more dramatic, "Now it's time to fight like MEN!"

* * *

Life was _good_ in Planet Zidane. He was going to marry his one true love in only two more months and was living like the king he would soon become.

'_Hard to believe it was only a year and a half ago since I first laid my eyes on her. Now I've gone from Thief to King-in-waiting in such a short amount of time.'_ He thought to himself as he laid on his King-sized bed in his room in Alexandria castle. Of course, what the ex-Thief really thought was that to this day that it was still almost hard to believe that a sweet girl like her could ever fall for a bastard (literally- he doesn't actually have parents at all and his maker Garland (FFIX- let's call him "Garlic" like BlueHighwind did in his old walkthrough of the game on the FFWiki) was never married, so…) like him. It was like a fairytale- only real (and given the world of FFIX was designed with that theme in mind, that's exactly the case).

After stretching a bit, he hopped off and exited the room, hoping to avoid a lecture from Steiner about him being late to his "Proper Kingly Manners and Etiquette" lessons if his didn't come down soon. Zidane only had to take them until he married Garnet (though the Queen and Knight had shared a look that made him question this), so he simply decided to grin and bear it.

As he left, he was quickly tackled from behind by a blue blur (not Sonic the Hedgehog), A little Black Mage to be precise, who proceeded to bear-hug him into submission (thankfully, not that Cletus guy's definition of 'hug').

"Uncle Zidane! Uncle Zidane!" the little child cried, happy to see his favorite uncle up and about.

"'Morning, Vava!" the future-king greeted in turn, giving the boy a pat on the back, "Hey, where are your brothers and sister?"

"Hrmm…" Vava began counting them off with his fingers, "Vulu is staying with Eiko and her adoptive parents at Lindblum-"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that." The little mage turned back to him with an annoyed glare. "Sorry, continue."

"Right…" Vava shook his head and kept going, "Vini is at the kitchens cooking with Quina…"

'_It's a miracle she hasn't gone on an eating-spree since he/she started here…'_

"…Vahan is hanging out with Blank and Marcus..."

'_That…I guess I'll just have to trust they won't do anything that would be inappropriate with the kid there, but given how much of a good influence they were way back when I was a little guy and they were big kids…better go check on them soon.'_

"…and finally, Vivi Jr. is with Steiner practicing that 'Magic Sword' technique he and dad used to do together during your adventures together." He looked saddened at the memory of how his father died not long after they were born (let's not ask how they were born…). While his children would be able to live and grow more like humans do (except they grow into their child state faster but stay there longer), Vivi himself didn't get to live quite as long.

One of the things Zidane regretted the most was not being there to say goodbye to his dear 'little brother'.

Zidane nodded, smiling as he tried to get the kid's mind onto a less gloomy train of thought as he patted him on the back and said, "Hey, why don't we meet up with Rusty and Jr.!" _'And then make sure Vahan hasn't had any of his innocence tarnished by my old buds. And then go get to Garnet once all of that is done.'_

The kid jumped up and down in excitement, "Yay! Let's go! Race you!" the little rascal then ran off, with Zidane quickly catching up and turning the race in his favor. Vava got a lot of exercise out of that…

_**Meanwhile…**_

At the same time Zidane was reflecting in his room, Queen Garnet Alexandros XVII a.k.a Dagger a.k.a Sarah (her birth name) was getting ready for her day as well.

Garnet was a now 17-year old girl with long dark brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail, brown eyes, and fair skin. She was currently in her casual attire: composed of a white bell-sleeved blouse under a skin tight orange jumpsuit- plus a pair of red leather gloves and red boots.

Right now, Garnet was looking into the mirror, feeling around the top of her forehead. She was already finished with her daily routine and so was doing some reflecting of her own. One of her greatest curiosities after learning of her true heritage as a Summoner was what it would be like to have her horn. She had now found the spot from which it was cut off and it felt hard like bone.

Summoners in the Final Fantasy IX universe were a race of beings physically identical to humans (with the exception of the small horn at the top of their foreheads) that had the ability to summon magical creatures known as Eidolons. These horns are what allow Summoners to communicate with their Eidolons. As such, because Queen Brahne had her horn cut off when she adopted her as to ensure no one noticed it wasn't her late real daughter Garnet that was otherwise identical to the Princess Garnet we know today.

As such, Garnet was unable to communicate with Eidolons like Eiko, the only other survivor of the race. That was the reason Garnet occasionally thought of that because a part of her wanted to have that same connection.

She didn't particularly want to act on that curiosity, though it wouldn't cause much alarm, since word had quickly leaked out do to some meddling from some treacherous members of the Royal Council. These men, however, underestimated the peoples' general acceptance of odd things like that after the chaos of the previous year- which is also why there weren't as many complaints about Zidane's courtship and soon to be marriage of the young queen. Still, it came to mind on rather slow days like this one.

"Ever wonder what it would be like to have your proof of your heritage, young queen?"

Garnet turned around to find the Black-coated man sitting on the couch in her room- complete with that feeling like he was giving an unsettling smile.

He waved, "Hi!"

Garnet backed away in shock. _'How did someone get in here so easily?'_

"I teleported in, of course!" He said, starting to make himself unnervingly comfortable on the couch. At the slightly paled expression on the Summoner's face, he added, "Am I a mind reader? Nah, you're just easy to read. So let's get down to business, shall we?"

Garnet looked at him wearily, uncertain of the nature of this man's intentions- a part of her could feel the massive power he seemed to be using and it would bode well if they weren't.

She ultimately decided to that it would be best to go along with it, "Do you intend to harm anyone in this castle?" She asked.

He seemed amused by the cool tone the Summoner was addressing him with and added, "And if I try?"

He then noticed a flare in the young queen's aura that would have gone unnoticed by those unable to sense it. However, this didn't apply to experts with aura like the Hooded Man. He sensed Eidolons ready to be summoned at moment's notice if necessary.

'_Note to self: Don't even joke about bringing harm to Alexandria in front of Garnet- EVER.'_ He thought to himself. Though he knew he had been given enough power to deal with anything she could throw at him, he also knew he wouldn't leave such a clash unscathed.

He held his hands up as a sign of peace, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! …that would be counterproductive anyway." _'Good response, your majesty- this wouldn't be as interesting if you were just a pushover.' _"Anyway, I'm here to offer you a proposition."

Garnet took a seat on a nearby chair, "What sort of proposition?"

"A casual one, my dear." He got out what Garnet assumed was sort of alcoholic beverage (really just a cola drink he got from some other world), and began to divulge his plan to the Queen, "You see, I'm actually here to do your fiancé a favor."

Garnet raised a critical eyebrow at the man's 'favor', but decided to let him continue before she struck him down.

He kept going, "See, he has some friends he kinda has to meet again or something very unfortunate could come to this world. Since I need this place safe for my boss, it would be counterproductive to let that happen."

Garnet raised her hand, "And what do you intend for me to do?"

The man shrugged, "I don't actually need 'you' per say, but I do need to lure Zidane to meet up with his forgotten pals, so your aid could be helpful." The man then stood upright and looked at her straight in eye, "What I need you to do…is to simply embark on a little ambassadorial mission to this new country."

He then pulled out a map of the world and gave it to the young queen; which she immediately began examining it. The first thing Garnet noticed before she even got a close look at it was the location of the Mist Continent… or rather, what was the Mist Continent if this map was truly accurate.

Being an exceptional and meticulous student in her youth, she could easily spot the general structure of the entire landmass Alexandria shared with its neighboring countries. What struck her as odd was that it seemed to have been…joined, for lack of a better word, by another landmass or two. She could loosely see where the other continents of her world were by where the locations that were marked on the map, but she hardly recognized anything else.

She hastily shoved it back in the man's face, "Explain!" she demanded.

He seemed a bit confused at what she was asking at first, until it finally came to him what she was talking about. He snapped his fingers, "Ooohhh! Right, forgot about that." He then came beside her and showed it to her once again, "This is essentially the New World Map of Gaia."

This did nothing to satisfy her, "What do you mean 'New World Map of Gaia'?"

He sat back down again, giving his drink a chug, "You see, this is your Gaia newly combined with several other Gaias along with a World A, a Spira, a Vana'diel, an Ivalice, and an…actually, don't remember what the other ingredient is called now, but doesn't matter at the moment." He then pointed to a relatively closer location east of the former Mist Continent, "Where you should go is right here: the country of Balamb. You shouldn't run into any trouble there, but if you do…" He shook his head, "It won't be my problem by then. You, Zidane, and company will be on your own."

Garnet continued to sternly gaze at this enigma of a man, "And why should I believe anything you say?"

He started to slowly walk away, "You don't; but if you want proof, go send an expedition team to one of the areas on the map and confirm it for yourself. I figure it would be something you'd like to look into personally- another reason you should do as I suggested. And if you do…" He turned back to her and uttered the last words she'd hear from him in quite some time.

"I will see to it that your small desire is fulfilled."

He then vanished in a brief but strong flash of light. This left the young queen with much to consider…

As for the man in the black coat, he wasn't entirely sure why he gave her all of the information he did, but it was likely because that of all of the other monarchs that were friends of the heroes who have become intertwined in this new conflict, Garnet was both the closest to one of those heroes and one of those that wouldn't immediately go on the offensive in response to one of his 'intrusions'.

* * *

We could go see what the meeting is all about, but why rush?

Instead, let's fill in some gaps and see what Ceodore and Rydia were up to prior to showing up in Chapter 4!

It all started with little trouble since the kid was just playing catch with his 'aunt' with a ball. Everything was going smoothly…until…

The two had taken a lunch break, with one of the Castle Chefs fixing the child some soup while Rydia fixed a sandwich for herself.

Rydia looked at the kid in amusement as he started chowing down, _'He kind of reminds me a bit of one of the friends I had among the village children in Mist. Before it was torched by the Carliean Signet, and I spent 7 years in the Feymarch._'

"Vroom, Vroom! I'm an Airship!" he said, playing with his food and getting soup all over himself and the table.

"Ceodore! We don't play with our food! Bad!" She reprimanded as she went over to clean up.

Ceodore pouted a little before consented, "Yes, Auntie Rydia..."

She lightly patted his head, "Now that's a good little boy! Remember, when you're done eating, it will be naptime."

"Aaaawww!" He groaned, "But I don't wanna!"

"I know how you feel," She told, bending down to his level, "I remember hating taking naps when I was your age too." She then pointed to herself, "But you know what? That little bit of extra sleep helped me grow up big and strong!"

"Is that why you have big melons?" Ceodore asked innocently.

"_What?!"_ Rydia looked absolutely flushed and embarrassed at his words, "W-where did you hear that word used in that way?!"

"Uncle Edge. Where are your melons? Can I have some fruit?" He announced, asking Rydia get him some.

'_Edge, you perverted prick…_' She thought to herself, remembering to arrange a meeting with the Ninja King and her whip when he came by for telling Ceodore something like that.

After getting Ceodore a piece of watermelon (after getting him to say please, of course), She let her eyes glaze over a bit as she lost herself in thought, _,At least watching him over like this will help me if I ever do have kids of my own. All and all, Ceodore is a good kid- much better than that one brat that kept pushing me out of any game I tried to be a part of…'_

During this short period of time that Rydia was distracted, the Black Coat Man showed up and after accessing what was going on, he decided to have some fun.

He came over to Ceodore and whispered, "Hey. Ceodore, right? Do you want to play a game?"

The young prince responded with a full mouth of food, "Mommy and Daddy told me not to talk with strangers."

The man nodded and whispered, "That is absolutely right. But you'd play this game with Rydia, not me. How about you play Tag with her?"

"Okay!" And with that, the hooded figure vanished (you could hear him snickering as he did so). Ceodore finished eating and got up on to his feet, "Auntie Rydia! Let's play Tag!"

"Eh?" Ceodore tapped his 'auntie' and ran off, leaving Rydia to chase after him in search.

And so the madness began…

To be continued…

* * *

"_**And That's a rap, folks! The Gullwings win! The Spira Cup is theirs! "**_

As the cheers of the spectators roared, the two-time blitzball championship team came into the locker room, exhausted but happy that they managed to prevail once again. This was likely in no small part due to their new team captain, the recently resurrected Tidus.

The other members of the Gullwings included co-captain Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Brother, Buddy, Biggs, and Wedge (Shinra wasn't part of the Gullwings anymore- something about building a spaceship to go to a world better suited for his technology to utilize the life force of the planet).

Rikku was an 18 year old Al Bhed girl with the trademark green spiral-pupil eyes, tanned skin, and relatively long orangey blonde-hair worn loose and braided, tied atop her head, adorned with colorful beads, and held by a blue bandana. Her outfit didn't leave much to the imagination and was composed of a yellow string-bikini, an olive-green mini-skirt carrying two pouches at her waist, a long red and yellow scarf, and ruffle sleeves over each arm.

Anyway, let's gloss over the rest of the team before we get to Paine. Ready? Brother was a big Al-Bhed man with blonde Iroquois. Buddy is also an Al-Bhed with really short blonde hair and wears goggles. Biggs and Wedge wore hats with visors attached to them; Biggs resembles a sailor's cap and Wedge's a conductor's. Biggs wore a blue uniform while Wedge wore dark-gray.

Now with Paine. She was a young woman of now 19 years of age with red eyes and short silver hair. She was wearing her standard black leather attire with high-heeled boots, knee-length gloves, and a folded top. She also had a silver pendant threaded with a barbed wire chain.

(THANK YOU FINAL FANTASY WIKI for helping me with these description parts throughout this story! Most of them, anyway)

As the team rested up from their intense match (and Tidus got a good look at Yuna's sweaty body- yes, you're welcome, Mr. Daddy Issues), the captain called the team's attention, "Hey! Everyone!"

Once he saw everyone was listening he started, "I just want to thank you- not just for making me your captain, but for making me a part of this team in general! I know that some of you didn't know me or at least didn't know me well… but it's been a blast-!"

Suddenly, Yuna spontaneously poured an entire container of cold punch over him.

Tidus screamed and turned to his girlfriend in annoyance, "What was that for?!"

She seemed confused by his reaction, "Isn't that what you do to the captain after you win a championship?"

"Um, Yunie?" Rikku raised her hand, "That's for coaches, not captains."

"Oh…" Yuna scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "My bad."

"S'alright." Tidus assured her, a hand on her shoulder, "I made that mistake to back in Zan- I mean, Dream Zanarkand. Nothing bad about it."

"Where is the Coach anyway?" Paine asked.

The position of the coach used to be non-existent since the destruction of the true Zanarkand 1000 years ago, back when they performed a role similar to the one coaches hold in the our world and the one captains hold now in rest of Spira. Around the time Tidus returned, however, the position had returned and aids the captain in planning the team's strategies and giving professional advice in recruiting players. This has become a popular occupation amongst former players who had retired.

Anyway, speaking of the coach, here he comes!

(Footsteps could be heard approaching the locker room…)

He was the ultimate blitzball player- the only one of his kind! He was once part of a secret society of blitzball players. However, he received a leg injury that, while leaving him mostly unscathed, did damage his proficiency to play- resulting in his expulsion from the society.

(The footsteps got louder and a wet sound could be heard from them.)

He is the one, the only-

A blue, bipedal creature wearing… orange-ish pants came into the room, a look of immense satisfaction on his face, "Congratulationish, my prized playerish and teamatesh! You make me sho proud!"

Riku grabbed another container of punch and soaked the real coach, Barkeep. "Thanks, coach!" Yuna gave her a high-five.

The Hypello looked at them in shock, "What…why..did you…?"

Noticing he seemed upset, Yuna moved to apologize, "We're sorry, Mr. Barkeep. It's just a-"

"Itsh. Ish…THE GREATESHT DAY IN MY LIFE!" Barkeep cheered, doing an rather out-of-character dance in celebration.

"Wait, What?!"

"Yesh! I alwaysh dreamed that shomeday, The day _I'd_ be showered like that!" He settled down and calmly explained, "Thish was a tradition kept in the Shecret Hypelllo shociety vershion of blitshball. We kept the Coach role and shince only thoshe who want to play blitshball are a part of it (a ridiculoushly shmall amount in comparshion to humansh, Al-Bhed, or Guado); the veteran'sh alwaysh became coachish when they were too old to perform." He then looked at the floor sadly, "Thoshe that are injured during play, however, are shunned by the perfectionisht shociety and never accepted again. But shcrew them, we won!"

They clapped for him (awkwardly) as he did another dance. When he settled down, he finished, "Now thoshe of you who will be of no more importance to the plot, come with me sho we can vanish away from it."

Brother, Buddy, Biggs, and Wedge all left with him, only leaving the playable characters left.

They just stared at where they left for a while, until Paine finally asked the question they were all thinking-

"What does he mean by 'those with no importance to the plot?"

* * *

"_100 bottles of beer on the wall, 100 bottles of beeeerrr! Take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of beer on the wall!"_

A day after we last saw him, Bartz was just laying on the deck- bored out of his mind. He had already swabbed off the decks thrice today to alleviate his boredom, yet it continued. He even went as far as asking the pirates if there were any positions he could take over, but it seemed Faris's crew didn't trust him with any of the more 'technical' work.

Given, in the past when Bartz had been given any other job, the ship would catch on fire one way or another and the mime and Faris (more well-known as the best Blue Mage of their party) would have to put it out with Aqua Breath (cast by Faris; mimicked by Bartz) before any serious damage could be done.

Not that Bartz was in the mood to care about that fact, but still. This is why the wanderer was laying there like a log, quietly singing to himself.

Eventually, Faris walked over and looked down at his prone form, "Seriously, Bartz. This is pathetic. Perhaps you could read one of the books I keep around in my captain's cabin?"

"Don't feel like… wait a minute." He got up, "You have books in your cabin?"

Faris shrugged, "A few things from my crew's 'travels'."

"You don't seem like the scholarly type."

"I'm not. But they're valuable pieces of literature I couldn't help but keep. They've helped me quite a bit during slow days."

"I take it isn't supposed to be a secret?"

She rolled her eyes, "No Bartz, it isn't supposed to be a secret. We just generally have better things to do than read. You, however, are apparently too stupid to do anything else without setting the ship ablaze."

Bartz pouted, "But I don't wanna read…"

Faris gave him a good shot-in-between. As Bartz gave a scream of pain and clutched his crotch in pain, Faris lectured, "Rule of the Seas No. 1: _Never_ refuse a captain's suggestion."

As Bartz began to slowly stand back up, he gave the pirate captain a glare, "Why did you have to DO that!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Because you were acting like a wee child. Now stop whining- it's not like something interesting is just going to come from the sky-"

Just as she was about to finish, a huge black portal opened up in the sky miles away from them, and a huge (20 ft. tall and wide) silver-steel robot with a round body emerged. As it approached the waves below, four silver ring-like appendages popped out and blue-colored energy began swirling within the empty space in the middle of the rings. This seemed to be a flight mechanism because it soon began hovering above the seas and was starting to come towards them.

The pirates had gathered onto the deck to see this mechanical marvel in awe, "What do you reckon that is?" one of them asked.

Their captain and her friend, however, paled upon noticing a large single, pupil-less, soulless yellow eye dominating the front of its central body.

"Omega…It can't be! We destroyed it and later it's upgraded form after a hell of a battle times 2!" Bartz shouted, hardly able to believe his eyes. As he said this, a spherical, small but deceptively strong probe attached to a rod and possessed an eye similar to the robot popped out of the back. It was definitely Omega.

Faris was quick to regain her composure and quickly went about giving orders, "Get this ship out of here _**now**_! I don't care how you do it, _just do it fast_!"

The crew hastily made to try to get the ship to move faster, but to no avail as the Bringer of the End just keep moving towards them. Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple for Bartz and company as the first time they came across it. Back then, its systems had glitched out and could only move in a set path and react to whatever came right in front of the killer robot.

This time, though, it was glitch-free and was coming over to them upon sighting them with no chance of escape.

As Bartz and Faris prepared themselves to fend off Omega and drawled their swords, it performed an scan of its possible targets using the probe. A light came from the probe and quickly flashed by every person on the ship.

_**Scanning…Scanning…Scan Complete.**_

_**Results:**_

_**Pirate-garbed humans:**_

_**Threat Level: Minimal.**_

_**Shinryu=No.**_

_**Operation: Laser**_

A mere second after the scan, it fired several (relatively weak) lasers from the probe that struck down each of the 14-member crew one by one. Bartz and Faris both tried to use Reflect spells to make barriers able to defend them, but none were effective in stopping its attacks.

After the first salvo of lasers had stopped, only 5 of them were still alive. Faris cried out for the others, but her words would no longer reach them.

As Bartz moved to heal the survivors with Cure spells with Faris defending, Omega then acted on its second half of the scan, that being:

_**Warriors of Light Bartz Klauser and Faris Scherwiz:**_

_**Defeated an Omega Mk. I and an Omega Mk. II**_

_**Threat Level: High**_

_**Operation:-**_

"**Wave Cannon."** The death machine voiced aloud- having calculated that the two heroes would recognize the move when it started to charge either way. The probe on its back began sparkling with energy as a countdown began.

"**5…"**

The duo had already turned to face it after it stated its attack and tensed at the memory of the move. Wave cannon was a built-in weapon the Armageddon machine possessed that fired one or more powerful beams of energy that would strip opponents down to only half their current strength and could continue depleting them afterwards.

And they knew Omega didn't need to aim directly at them- just striking the ship would take them all down at once.

Faris stepped forward, a resigned look in her eyes, "Bartz, stay back."

Bartz noticed a certain tone in her voice that caused him to worry, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take it down in one shot- you know the drill."

"**4…"**

Bartz looked confused for a second before he nodded, "Ah…" The Wanderer grinned, "Don't you think you could use a second sword?"

Faris didn't return the grin and kept her gaze focused on the on the killer robot that was inching closer and closer to the point in which it was only about 10 yards away, "1: No. 2: Yes."

Bartz frowned, realizing that Faris didn't intend to have him join in, but give her the sword he had, the Brave Blade, so Faris could use it to dual-wield with the sword she had, Ragnarok. Faris then ran up and jumped at the menace, her swords charging up with powerful electricity in the form of Thundaga spells.

As she edged near it, however, Omega let out a piercing siren-blare and suddenly charged for her as well. The whirl of the siren surprised the Pirate Captain just enough to dispel her Spellblade and briefly ruin her midair stance. There was now no chance of an opening for her to strike, and she'd be crushed by its Rocket Punch ramming attack. All she could do now was fatally collide with it.

Time suddenly seemed to slow down for Faris as her life flashed before her eyes. _'In hindsight,'_ she thought,_ "I should've left this for Bartz to do. He had the higher skill-level in his Mystic Knight Job class - he'd have able to finish this thing more easily. It would go against my own nature, though, to let someone else take vengeance for me…"_

Just as Omega was about to run into her, the Mimic Master himself charged at Omega from the left side with the same combo of Dual-wield Spellblade she had been attempting earlier. He hacked and slashed rapidly at the machine and was able to dent and almost cut it with the empowered swords. As a bonus, the electrical energy also had a side-effect of disrupting it for a second or two.

Though small, this opening let Faris charge up her swords with Thundaga again and succeed in striking the death machine in the same side Bartz had with the exact same combination at the exact same spots. The new set of damages to Omega's left side took their toll on its metallic shell by actually cutting it and damaging its inner workings.

However, this did not quite finish it yet. Though this combo was particularly devastating to Omega, it would take more than two of those to destroy it.

And this time, Omega took the offensive. It circled around the duo as they hopped back on the ship and launched missile after missile at them.

Bartz looked at the swarm and remembered a critical fact about their previous battle with the Bringer of the End. In that battle, he and Faris, being the best physical attackers of the party, threw out their Rapid Fire-Dual Wield- Thundaga Blade combos upon it while dodging its blows, and Lenna and Krile, the best mages in the party, kept all four of them alive with healing Curaga spells and buffing them with others.

The two shared a quick glance, confirming one another's plans. Bartz then leapt at Omega, twirling his swords around himself to keep the forces of the explosions from blowing him off-course (he had never performed such a feat before, but had a gut feeling that he could remember someone who did that before). It also helped him endure the massive, searing pain by blowing some of the resulting flames and shrapnel away (still hurt like the Rift, though).

At the same time, Faris healed both Bartz and herself, greenish glows coming off them as the magic did its work. They wouldn't be able to keep this going long, since the two would likely use up all of their magical power in the feat and would never be able to restore it through rest if this failed.

The pirate kept a close eye as Bartz braved through the storm just as he did during their previous battle and shot through the center of the machine's body, successfully destroying it and saving their lives. She didn't react to its death at all, still keeping an eye to make sure it was truly destroyed.

Bartz came back down, a big grin on his face as trudged back to Faris, ready to get an Elixir or two to tend to his wounds, "We did it." He promptly dropped to his knees, unable to stand as the burn wounds and gashes became more apparent. Faris moved to his side and did her best to heal him, but had to abandon her search for traces of Omega's survival temporarily since she wasn't skilled enough with magic to do both.

As she carefully examined his body to find the right spots to heal, she glanced out to where the death-mech had been for a second. What she saw made her bolt upright in shock: Omega's remains had vanished! She hastily healed Bartz just enough for him to stand before drawing her sword once again.

Bartz tilted his head in confusion as he started to get back onto his feet, "What's going…" he then noticd something behind her that caused him to gape. He pointed towards it, "Faris…"

The captain looked and grimaced at the sight before her.

Omega still lived (as much as a Machine could, anyway). And the Wave Cannon was done charging.

The two quickly moved to the front of the ship as the massive, brilliantly blue laser nuked the Faris's ship. What few remains were left began to float back up from the water.

**Results: All average human life forms destroyed. Status of Warriors of Light Bartz Klauser and Faris Scherwiz unknown**

**Shinryu=No**

**Operation: Continue Search for Primary Target**

And with that, the mechanical nightmare flew away to continue its true mission…

* * *

On a hill overlooking a large castle and a lake, the Man in the Black Coat was awaiting a certain someone to help him in his plans.

Well, honestly, it was the boss's plan. How to execute it was left in his hands.

Up until now, this mystery man has done little except observe and pull a few pranks (the latter having been done simply to relieve his boredom). Soon, however, that would change. The time for stupid pranks was finished- the time for taking more direct action was ahead.

…Okay, he'd still screw with their heads from time to time, but no pranks. To be honest, be wasn't exactly a trickster- it was just something he did to avoid boredom or during a job.

"_Little Helper to Cloaked Man, Little Helper to Cloaked Man- over!"_

The hooded figure grinned. He then responded with a mental message of his own, _"Cloaked Man to Little Helper- current orders are to remain on stand-by. Let me take care of things for now until further notice."_

"_Roger that!"_

* * *

**Update: 1/16/13: Omega is named after the last letter of the Greek alphabet and represents the end or the limit. As such, I thought it would be appropriate for everyone's favorite death machine to make its debut for the last chapter of the _Those That Did The Impossible_ intro-arc... **

**And no, it won't be as important to the plot as it is in _that other guy's_ story (nor Shinryu...). I'm not so shameless as to directly take from another's work.**

**I think the greatest influence that inspired me to make this story was Drake Clawfang's _Shards of Memory_. Besides the obvious reasons (cough- Clerra- cough!), I found the story qutie interesting and I think it may have influenced the way I picture Terra's character. It never got too dark (which will turn me off so fast it isn't funny since I'm rather sensitive about that) or too light in its tone (different from my story here, which as been mostly funny business (for now))- striking that perfect balance. I'd highly recommend it.**

**All right! Next time...actually I haven't thought of what to name it yet- and I'm at least a halfway through. I noticed that the chapters are begining to reach the 10,000 word mark, so the next chapter probably won't be as long (not sure how long yet, but not this long).**

**As always, with reviews, criticism is appreciated so long as is constructive! ;D**


	7. Discoveries and Discord

**Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War**

**Chapter 7: Discoveries and Discord**

**Author's Note: This was completed last week as I had said it would be. The reason it took a while to be posted is because checking through it with my 'beta' took quite some time. With that time, however, I was able to add another scene or two and make the story read better! Finally, I'm able to get more than one chapter a month done :P. Expect to see a new story or two come for next month!**

**Oh, and if you're wondering why there is a review for this story from myself... it's kind of embarassing, but it's there on accident. See, I didn't think I could actually do that, so when I typed in a humorous little comment to myself, I didn't expect it to actually accept it. Unfortunately, because I was logged on at the time, I can't get rid of it.**

**Oh well, you live and learn (_hanging on the edge of tomorrow!_). Just ignore it.**

**Edit: 2/25/2013: After revisiting FFVI (which I haven't played in while due to hardware reasons), I counted only 8 younger orphans; not 11. That has been fixed and ages rearranged after noticing they were all pretty young. Similar edits to be made in Chapter 5.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Mama, what's that?"

Terra turned her head over from working on their all-purpose garden with the boys to note Sera, one of the girls among the 8 younger orphans, pointing at something the young woman couldn't see from her position. "Right…" she turned to the three boys helping her, "I'll be right back, let me just see what's the matter."

"Alright, Mama Terra!" the oldest boy in the group, a 10-year-old black-haired youth with green eyes, said as he soon took the lead at ordering the other two around. Terra made a mental note to come back and check as soon as she could after noting what those three had done with Nicky at the helm before.

Let's just say that Valerie's pet baby Chocobo was never seen again.

Terra took off her green gardening gloves for the time being as she walked over to the edge of the shore line that used to be part of the far-southern part of the village prior the Apocalypse. When she saw Sera's dark blonde locks she quickly rushed over. She also noticed she had Tina along with her. The young woman took a seat next to the two, "What's wha…"

The half-Esper let out a small gasp when she saw that instead of seeing a sea of blue, she saw a curtain of fog obstructing her view. _'Mobliz doesn't get fog…"_ Terra thought to herself, _"What's more, there's something almost magical about it. Just like that much stronger feeling I've been getting from the east in the plains.'_

"I don't know, dear." She turned to face the brown-eyed girl and noticed that Tina was holding onto the older girl in fear. After taking the 3-year old Tina into her arms, she asked 6-year old, "Have there been any other odd sightings like this?"

Sera nodded, "Timmy told me that he saw some fog like that in the eastern fields few minutes before I saw this. I didn't believe him, but now…"

Terra looked in that direction and grimaced, _'This isn't good. Whatever is in those fields…it's like a new source of magic. I'm not going there- I won't let events like the ones from four years ago that led to the Apocalypse occur again…'_

"OH!" Sera's outburst snapped her caretaker's attention back to her, "Timmy also told me he saw a cave at the very end of the field. You'll have to talk to him later."

Terra nodded, "I'll do that, thanks." She took little Tina's hand and started to walk off with her and told the older child, "Don't worry about it right now; let Mama Terra take care of that. In the meantime, Valarie and Timmy could use some help with getting the smaller house cleaned up."

"But Mama- isn't that Katarin and Kimmy's job?" Sera pouted.

"Normally, yes, but Katarin's going to have another baby and Kim has taken up laundry duty, so you're going to have to pitch in more like the rest of us. Don't worry; once I'm done taking Tina back, I imagine Katarin will be ready to lend a hand."

Sera gave another cute little pouted, but agreed, "Okay Mama." Terra gave her a small hug before sending her off.

As Terra took Tina to her mother Katarin, she noticed that the toddler was cheering back up, _'I wonder what had her spooked…'_

Tina was the daughter of Duane and Katarin that had been born on the same day that Kefka was defeated for good. She had been named 'Tina' as a tribute to Terra after the formerly half-Esper politely refused the request of Duane and her to name the child directly after her, ("That kind of makes me sound like I've died! Given, I did almost disappear, but still…"). She wore a simple green dress, had her mother's eyes and complexion, but had her father's dark brown hair. Apparently, her build also comes from her father's side as well.

Tina smiled, "Thanks for coming, Auntie Terra." That was what she affectionately called her instead of "Mama Terra" since she was the only one among them who even had a mother (and a father).

Her godmother (a status granted to her for obvious reasons) gave her a warm grin in return, "It was my pleasure."

"...Auntie Terra?"

"What is it?"

"…when me and Sera was looking at the water, I saw something funny in it."

Terra looked at her in curiosity, "What was it?"

"It was pink and it had bunny legs, kitty ears, a long tail, and it could fly."

The mother of the Village of Orphans seemed shocked by the flying part, _'That can't be a good sign if creatures like that could be appearing.' _"I don't know what that would be…" Suddenly, Tina stopped moving and Terra could feel the little girl trembling. She was point at something that right in front of them…

Terra turned her head in that direction and yet out a yelp when she saw a creature nicely fitting that description floating right in her face. After the initial shock wore off, she deduced that it seemed harmless and even adorable with its cute face and big, baby-blue eyes. "Mew." It cried.

"It's okay…" she told Tina, "I think it just wants a friend. Why don't you go pet it?" Yet as she said this, she also reached for her sword just in case she was wrong. The little girl went up to it and held her hand out. It responded positively and allowed her to pet its pink, furry body.

"Aww…she's cute!" the little girl cried as she reached out to grab for the cat-like creature to cuddle it. It quickly moved out of way in response.

Terra vaguely heard a voice say "Not a she…not a he either" but decided it was just the wind. At seeing Tina's attempt at holding it, she shook her head, "Careful, if it is like a cat, it might not be ready to let you hold it." with this, the former half-Esper also reached out for it and was able to get it to grant her petting rights as well. Soon, it even let her hold it. _'Not as cute or fluffy as a Moogle, but still adorable.'_

"_I take offense to that!"_ a high pitched voice sounded out of nowhere.

"What was that?" Terra looked around, trying to find whoever said this, but couldn't find him or her.

"What'cha talking about, Auntie Terra?" Tina asked confusedly. When her godmother shook her head and muttered "Nothing, nothing…" she commented, "How did you make her let you hold her so quickly?"

Terra shrugged, "Well, I guess I've always had an affinity of sorts with animals, so maybe it sensed that and gave its trust easier." It was true; she did love animals, though her fondness for children had grown up to that level soon after wandering into Mobliz that fateful day.

"_That and I get a good feel of your respectful melons…"_

The half-Esper quickly let go of the creature at this, and looked for whatever voice made that inappropriate comment. Once again, she came up blank. She looked at the now-fleeing creature (which she had a feeling was laughing at her) in suspicion, but decided not to bother with it anymore. Terra then took Tina to the larger house that everyone except Duane, Katarin, Tina, and Relm usually occupied.

The reason those four weren't in the small house was because it was currently being renovated by Terra, Duane, Relm, and some of the older kids to make for more room for the baby and the other kids.

Speaking of Tina, her mother was waiting for her at the door. Katarin was a 19-year old young woman with dark-blue eyes and dusty-brown hair tied in a loose ponytail with a green bow. She wore a simple blue and white dress.

Katarin picked up her daughter and spun her around a bit before setting her back down, "Good afternoon, baby! How's your day been so far?"

Tina jumped up at the chance to talk, "It's been good, mommy! I saw a flying pink cat-thing and a bunch of weird white stuff- and I got you a flower!" She then handed her a white daisy.

The young mother looked at it in curiosity, "I don't think I've seen one of these since before the world fell into ruin…" She smiled, "Definitely a sign things are getting better! Thank you!" Katarin gave her daughter a big hug.

Terra smiled at the scene before her. Even if she may never have children of her own, as long as she still had a role in helping these kids continue to survive and prosper, she'd be content.

"All right, I'm going to go get us a vase to put it in, but first we need some water." Katarin went back inside for a second and got out a decorative vase depicting the rising sun.

'_A family heirloom."_ Terra remembered. Seeing that she wouldn't be needed at the moment, she decided to head back to the boys to finish up work on the garden.

When she got there, however, she saw that Nicky and the others (a 9-year old red-haired, blue-eyed boy with freckles named Austin and a 8-year old blonde-haired, brown-eyed boy named Jimmy) were trying to make 7-year old Timmy eat a worm.

"L-let go!" the boy cried, trying to wiggle his way out of Nicky and Jimmy's hold on him as Austin fetched a worm out of the dirt. He started screaming after the red-head successfully came back with not one, not two, but four worms.

Terra was watching from her new position behind a nearby tree, ready to jump them before she noticed that Austin had given and worm to each of the other two bullies. _'What they up to now…wouldn't it have been simpler to just make poor Timmy eat them all right then and there? They could just be messing with him, but…'_ She decided to wait just a bit, slightly curious at what they had in mind.

Austin then relieved Nicky of having to hold the younger boy down so that he could come up right to his face, "Relax, Tim-Tim." He said with a false sweetness in his tone, "We're just going to teach you an important survival skill."

"What?!" Timmy screamed, now both scared and slightly confused.

The black-haired boy smirked, "You remember back before Mama Terra showed up and we struggled to survive?"

The boy hesitantly nodded. Terra paid particularly close attention at this part. She remembered having asked how things had been since Mobliz was devastated and all the adults were killed protecting their children, but none of them were willing to talk about it. She had dropped the subject rather quickly after seeing how painful the memory must have been, but she was still curious.

"Do you know what some of us did for food?"

Timmy nodded, "We divided whatever rations we still had until Mama Terra arrived and started to get us food in the form of cooked monster meat."

Nicky gave a nod of his own, "Right, but before that, some of us took matters into our own hands…"

The younger boy was afraid to ask, but his curiosity got the better of him, "What did you do?"

Nicky's eyes turned stone serious, "We ate worms."

Timmy just looked at him like he was insane. At this, the older boy sighed, "Don't believe me? Watch."

'_They can't be serious. They wouldn't go that far, would they?'_ Terra thought to herself as she watched Nicky, Jimmy, and Austin each taking one of the four worms (the fourth being left for Timmy, obviously) and prepared to drop them in their mouths.

'_Warring Triad, yes they would!'_ "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" The young woman called out, coming out of her hiding place. The boys tried to run away, but Terra quickly caught up to them (she's become much faster in those high heels than she was in the cycles, it seems) and pulled on Jimmy and Austin's left and right ears respectively. She wasn't able to grab Nicky, but Timmy decided to help out by tackling the older boy to the ground.

With the troublesome trio subdued, the formerly (and to an extent, still) Half-Esper woman then proceeded to give them a scolding, "What were you thinking?! It is not okay to eat worms, let alone make a younger boy eat one!"

"But we were teaching him a survival sk-" Jimmy paused upon seeing the fierce glare their foster mom was giving them.

"Didn't you say worms had lots of protein?" Austin asked, making Terra frown in annoyance. _'Well, at least they are learning something from the lessons I've been giving them.'_

Because she felt her kids deserved some kind of education, Terra had been teaching them much of what she knew and had recently remembered from the memories she was starting to recover (they didn't tend to be pleasant ones because of Kefka, though): such as Math, writing, reading; the works.

Terra sighed before sadly remarking, "Look, you guys just can't bully each other like this. The truth is, we're essentially on our own. We're working on rebuilding this town, and until a time comes when we can connect to the rest of the world to speed this up, we need to support each other as best we can instead of tormenting each other. Do you understand?"

The three boys responded with a grudging, "Yes, Mama Terra."

Terra smiled, "All right, but to make sure you really learn…you have to do the rest of Timmy's chores."

"What?!" They cried, outraged at what they saw as a brutal punishment.

"You heard me." Terra paused for second, then continued, "If it makes you feel any better, Timmy will take your place in helping me here." She then handed out a list from one of her sashes and gave it to them. "Here, this will tell you what you need to do. Don't forget, you still have a couple more chores of your own to finish too."

Nicky looked at in anger for a few seconds, but couldn't keep it up and led Jimmy and Austin to start their punishment. Timmy looked up at Terra with gratitude, "Thank you, Mama Terra."

The young woman gave him a hug, "No problem. So I take since you're here, you, Valerie, and Sera finished up cleaning house?"

The boy nodded, "Yep!" Timmy frowned for a second, thinking of the question he had in his head, "Hey, Mama, why does Katarin get to not do chores?"

Terra shook her head, "First off, that's not entirely true. Katarin does still to chores, just not as many as she normally would. As for why, she's going to have a baby in another month or two, so she will want to take things just a little easier."

"Oh…okay."

"Mm-hm." Terra handed him a watering can, "Now let's finish this up. After this, there will only be one thing for us to do- some work on the second house and the old shop."

Timmy nodded in understanding, then asked, "When is it going to be finished?"

Terra contemplated that, then answered, "Should only be another two weeks. But after that…"

The boy tilted his head, "What? Are we going to build a third house?"

Terra smiled as she put her gardening gloves back on, "_We_ won't, because I've finally saved up enough gil from my monster hunting to afford hiring a construction crew from South Figaro to help us!"

Timmy's eyes went wide, a big smile of his own on his face, "Really?!"

"Yep! We're still going to help them since the cash won't be enough to cover all of the construction, but having extra hands will speed things up tremendously. It should only take a month and a half."

"Awesome!" The boy was jumping up and down in excitement before Terra held onto shoulder and reminded him of what they were doing.

As the young woman began pulling out the remaining weeds, she suddenly remembered what Sera had told her earlier had asked, "Timmy?"

The little boy turned from watering the crops, "What is it, Mama?"

"I heard that you saw mist in the eastern fields. You know it's still too dangerous to go there alone now, right?"

"I wasn't alone!" Timmy shouted, knowing where this could be going, "This man in a black coat thing showed me it."

The light purple eyes of the (formerly and still kind of) Half-Esper widened, "A: Use indoor voices, please. I'm not mad at you, just worried. B: You went out with a stranger?! You know you're not supposed to do that! What if you got hurt?"

"The boy bowed his head guiltily, "I'm sorry, Mama…"

"You should be." She shook her head, "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay, Mama."

"And Timmy?"

He looked back up at her, "Yes?"

"If you see that man again, please tell me. I'll take care of him…"

Timmy nodded his head. It wasn't long before both of them finished their respective tasks (there wasn't much left) and the two parted ways so that the boy could go play with the others.

By looking at the position of the sun, Terra could tell that it was about 1:00 PM right now. She woke up at 6:00 AM while the kids woke up at 6:30 AM. Both got to work at 7:00 AM after breakfast and had lunch at 10:00 AM. The younger children (or rather, those 5-8 years old) didn't have as many time consuming or physically challenging chores and got done at 11:00 AM, while the older kids (ages 8+) had more and had finished by 12:00 AM.

'_So we're making good time. Perfect! That gives the children plenty of time to play, before the older ones help Duane and me work on the smaller house. Soon we can finally open this town back up again! But…'_

Terra turned toward the east, feeling anxiety coursing through her as she did. The foster mother could feel the other half of herself pulled towards it- much like how the Espers that came out of the Sealed Gate subconsciously gravitated towards the golden statues of the Warring Triad.

'_I'm staying away from there. I won't let what happened 4 years ago repeat itself…or at least, that's the reason I'm trying to tell myself. The real reason is more personal…'_

* * *

"No excuses, child!"

Luneth jumped out of the reach of Gilgamesh's Death Claw pincer attack; countering it with a fast torrent of sword strikes. They didn't seem to be doing that much against him, but the Onion Knight knew that he just had to keep wearing him down until he couldn't continue to fight in order to win.

Trouble was, Gilgamesh was far stronger than he would have liked, so evading his attacks proved to be vital to his survival. The boy shot out a Blizzard ice spike at the man, hoping to combo him once it landed. The man in red, however, sent out some air-slices that destroyed it on contact. "Is that all you can do, child? How disappointing." He taunted.

The Onion Knight growled, "I'll show you what I can do!" He then shot out a trio of electric orbs that managed to catch the big man off guard and let the boy follow it by striking him with lightning bolts. Just when Gilgamesh thought he was safe, the boy finished the combo by hitting him from below with a Quake.

As the man was flung through the air, Luneth noticed that his combo did the trick and had knocked him out. The man's face seemed stuck in a pained grimace as he reached the apex of his launch. The boy taunted his defeated opponent, "Catched you off-guard, red guy?"

To his surprise, the man grinned and opened his eyes, "FELL FOR IT!" He then got out a lance and plunged straight at the kid.

The attack hit home, broke though his armor, and left him a bloody wound on his gut. "Guh…" The boy fainted from the pain, his body going limp.

Gilgamesh checked Luneth's wounds and grunted, "You should be thankful I had not aimed for a fatal blow, child…if I did, it would be a lot messier." He threw the unconscious child a Megalixir, intending to have someone else heal him with it.

He looks up at _**you**_ (the reader), "What, did you think I was going to heal him myself? I'm a neutral character, not some 8-bit hero!" he scratched his chin, "Wasn't going to kill him either since he's only a child, but you get the idea."

Gilgamesh suddenly yelled out in pain and was shocked to find that the boy actually wounded him- and quite bit too. He could see that those injures he had sustained prior to his entrance to this world had become even worse than before. It was then he realized what had happened, _That torrent of blade strikes… when he used attacks like those against me, he wasn't simply aiming for anywhere on my body, he aimed straight for my previous wounds!_ …_This kid's has excellent skills! May haps I should kidnap him and make him my sidekick.'_

Gilgamesh considered that thought for a moment but decided dealing with a kid would be too much of a hassle. He gave Luneth one last glance, "I applaud you for not giving up, but you are no longer worth my time. Go train some more until we meet again… come, Enkido III! To the sky!" Gilgamesh whistled and a big, green and beige wolf like creature with bat-like wings appeared. The red-clad man hopped on top of him and the two flew off to parts unknown.

The red-clad boy lay there in tremendous pain as he woke up. Luneth slowly tried to get up, but the wounds he received from Gilgamesh took their toll on him.

"Need a hand, big brother?" a familiar voice called out as Cure magic enveloped him, taking care of most of his injuries. Luneth turned around and saw a now-conscious Arc standing close behind him.

Luneth got up and gave his little bro a hug, "Thanks. I owe you one." He then noticed that Arc had a couple extra books on him. The older boy raised an eyebrow, "Did you really go to the library while I was fighting that guy?"

"Yep!" Arc smiled, "I woke up about ten minutes after he hit me and got the book! "

"…"

"…You were still awesome, even if you did lose…" Arc got out the book he got at the library and started reading; not sure how to approach the conversation.

Luneth facepalmed. This wasn't the first time his foster brother had ignored what was going on around him to do something he wanted. One example was during their fight with Djinn. Arc saw a ruby on the wall of the cave and walked away from their fight to get it, making the rest of the team have to keep Djinn's attention away from the blonde while he wandered around.

'_Wait a minute…'_ The older boy then noticed that Arc had three books on hand (including his spell tome), not two. "Where did you get the extra book?"

"Huh?" Arc looked up at Luneth and smiled, "Oh. A nice guy in a black hood gave that to me."

"What did mom and I tell you about talking to strangers?"

"Not to do that- but don't worry! I scanned it for dark magic the minute I had it in my hands, and it wasn't cursed or anything."

The red-head gave his brother a dull stare, but shook his head, _'It's too early in the day to have this talk again.'_ "Any idea of what's in it?"

"I had a look at it while I was inside, but I think it's supposed to be some sort guide book to exploring the ancient world or something. There's even a map right here."

"Eh?" Luneth got up closer and started to read the map with him, "…Mobliz? I think you might be right. We've been all over the world and never even heard of a place like that."

Arc seemed to notice something and raised an eyebrow, "Something's weird…"

"What is it?"

"You notice where the Floating Continent is here?" Arc pointed out, voice starting to waver.

"Yeah, its…" Luneth's eyes widened.

According to the map, it was floating back then, so it couldn't have been long enough for the rest of the world to change to its current form so suddenly (since the rest of the world had been flooded with darkness and frozen in time).

Not only that, but the island was said to be directly adjacent to a larger landmass, locations such as "Mobliz" and "Edge" being locations among the continent.

The two foster brothers looked at each other straight in the eye.

_Minutes later…_

"Mom, is it okay if we can take a trip to an unknown and possibly dangerous piece of land?"

"Sure, just be sure to be home by diner." Nina answered, not looking up from her meditation as she said this.

Had this been before Luneth landed in the cave of the Wind Crystal, she'd have denied their request on the spot. Since then, however, she hasn't worried as much so long as the two went together.

And so plans were made for the two (along with Refia and Ingus if they were able) to depart for this possible new journey in 3 days.

* * *

"_On the road again, on the road again, that's what say! On the road again, on the road again, I'm going my way…"_

Tifa sighed. It wasn't that Barret sang badly (not when he first starts, anyway), it's just that he only knew two songs, one of which (the one he was singing right now) he made up himself after forgetting the lyrics of the original song.

The other was "_ bottles of beer on the wall", but that got old fast, so they were stuck on this one.

It didn't help that his singing began to get worse and worse as he kept going until it was complete torture to the ears. The passengers of this sad vehicle had endured this for 2 hours now and were getting more than tired of this.

"Can you please stop, Barret?" Tifa groaned, starting to reach the limits of her patience. Sadly, she was one of only few that were complaining since Denzel had fallen asleep a few minutes before this happened (lucky kid) and Shelke…didn't really care either way. She was just looking out the car window, on the lookout for monsters.

The big black man paused from his song for a bit, and countered, "Can you tell me what's with you and Cloud?"

Tifa was silent at this.

"Thought so." So Barret was free to continue as if nothing happened. Luckily, the other person who had a problem with his singing was someone he couldn't refuse…

"Can you please, stop, daddy?" Marlene asked, looking at her adoptive father with puppy-dog eyes.

"Eh? Ah…. come on, I'm almost finished!" But upon seeing her eyes, Barret surrendered and shut up. After a while, though, he broke the silence to ask, "Hey, Tifa?"

The bartender turned back towards him, snapped out of her earlier train of thought, "Mm-hm?"

"Just want you to know…if by some slim chance your relationship with Cloud doesn't work out, you can always come to me- I'll help you find someone."

Tifa tilted her head, "Funny, that's the same thing Cloud told me."

Barret raised an eyebrow at her. "Really, now."

"Well, not exactly, but you get the idea."

"Hrm…" Barret kept silent at this and returned his full gaze to the road, an odd look in his eyes.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with that?"

"When man says something that, it means he's considering breaking out of the 'kind of boyfriend' stage and going back to the 'best friend' stage. Just to warn you."

Tifa opted to turn away from the big man, whispering "I don't think that was how he said it" to herself.

As for Cloud himself, he was simply riding his motorcycle, the Fenir, thinking about the route they planned to take towards Kalm. Planning the route was left in his hands due to the fact that the nature of his job as a delivery meant that he traveled the most out the Seventh Heaven crew.

As such, he knew the fastest route towards the town and was leading the way there. Yet something troubled him- he felt that something was wrong…

'_Something isn't right here. The way to Kalm from Edge is only 3 hours at the very most, but it feels like it's been longer.'_

Eventually, This feeling drove the chocobo-haired hero to come to a stop to the left of the van, said vehicle following suit. Immediately, Tifa and the others came out, Tifa and Barret coming up towards him while Shelke (being the only other person in the group with any actual fighting ability) stayed with Denzel and Marlene.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked, her worry clearly shown in her face. Barret was right behind her, a glint of suspicion in his eyes (as if he kind of had an idea of what could be wrong, but wasn't sure).

"Barret," Cloud started, turning towards him, "You've traveled through here in your truck before, right?"

Barret folded his arms, thinking, "Yeah. And?"

"How long does it normally take to reach Kalm from Edge?"

"1 to 3 hours, depending on what route you take."

"How long has it been since we left?"

Tifa check her cell phone, "Looks like… ah."

"Exactly. It's been 5 hours." Cloud stated, "Something's up with our path."

"Hey, Barret?" Tifa questioned, turning towards the big black man, "Does the van have a GPS?"

"Naw, it doesn't. The 'van' is just the truck with more car seats bolted into the back, after all. It took money to add that convertibility, so a GPS was out of the question."

"Damn, that would have helped…" Cloud shook his head.

"Hold on." The founding AVALANCHE members turned around to see Shelke toying with her own phone, "I have just what we need right here."

Tifa raised an eyebrow at this, "When did you add GPS compatibility to your phone? When did you even get the money to buy that?"

"I have my sources." The former Tsviet dryly answered. When she activated it and examined where they are, her eyes widened.

"…What's wrong?" Tifa asked, knowing if it was something that stunned even the stoic Transparent, it couldn't be good.

"It would seem that either my phone is broken, or…" the look on Shelke's face when she said the following was so stone serious it made them remember once more that this girl was a 20-year old trapped in a 10-year old body, "We have a serious problem on our hands."

She handed the phone over to Cloud, who had the exact same response Shelke had when she looked at it.

"What is it?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, what is it, Spikey?!"

Cloud looked at this map displayed on the phone in silence. _'Things are going to get complicated really fast now…_'

Pop Quiz! Who was watching this scene from afar?

Don Corneo

The Hooded Man

Santa Claus

If you answered B, then you are CORRECT! If you guessed C, you were also right (he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, and he knows if you've been bad or good because he's kind of a pedophile). If you answered A… no, just- no.

He was _going_ to confront them and point the problem out, but Shelke had beaten him to it, so he didn't really have anything to do but watch. Maybe he'd still get to do something later if they weren't going where he wanted them to.

Just then, he felt his phone vibrate. _'Must be the boss.'_ He answered his phone, "Hey Boss. Been awhile since I've heard from you… regaining your powers again?"

He listened and nodded his head, "Oh, nothing much is happening here yet. Just going to make sure they go in the right direction on the chessboard." He paused, "Actually, something did happen- guess who arrived here and is probably going to be a nuisance? …Yep, that's right: Omega showed up. Blew up Faris's ship, too. It definitely knows how to make an entrance. So when do you want me to pick you up? …I see. Going to do that yourself, then? Good. Makes my job easier….all right, talk to you later- bye, boss!"

The Hooded Man hung up, intending to 'help' Cloud and company get where he wanted them to go…

Sometime soon, at least.

* * *

Sephiroth hated his life

Don't get him wrong- getting another chance to take his revenge on his mortal nemesis Cloud was appreciated and he did have to thank Chaos for that.

What really made his life hell was that the God of Discord paired him up with _Kefka_ of all people.

While the conqueror and messenger (since even though it tried to take control of him and he had destroyed its mind in retaliation, Sephy was still obsessed with his 'mommy') of Jenova reluctantly acknowledged that the Mad God would be incredibly difficult to dispatch, he was still a pain to deal with.

The jester irritated him to suicide once by hanging, but the attempt failed hilariously and he just hung there from his neck while Kefka laughed at him (but when the swordsmen got loose, he paid dearly for that).

(Note: I do not endorse or condone suicide- don't do it! No matter what you may think, you still have much to live for.)

Because of this, Sephiroth had taken to meditating at the Gateway Chaos had made for him at the Northern Crater. The Gateway didn't have Manikin security forces for him (they didn't inhabit this world), but it did recreate the lair of sorts he had made for himself at the same crater 4 years ago. It proved to be a good place for him to relax. He was in the middle platform at the bottom of the Planet's Core, chilling out.

But unfortunately…

"There you are!" Sephiroth looked up to see Kefka drop down from one of the higher platforms to the bottom. He wagged his finger at him, "It's far from polite to abandon your running mate- Mr. Fallen Hero!"

"What do you want?" Sephiroth demanded, not in the mood to waste his time chatting with the clown.

Kefka rolled his eyes, "Tsk tsk, always straight to the point with you. If you keep frowning like that, your face will get stuck that way!"

"You mean like how your face is stuck in that insane grin? Get lost."

Kefka stopped smiling (his make-up grin still there, however), no longer playing with him, "All right then. Allow me to get straight to the point. I propose an actual alliance."

Sephiroth turned to leave, "We're already forced to be paired up with each other- I'm not interested in your petty schemes."

Kefka let out a hollow laugh, a sinister smile returning to his face, "Oh no- this isn't about making Terra my little doll again… not yet anyway." he added upon further contemplation, then continued "This is about payback, and it involves your little blonde puppet too."

This piqued Sephiroth's interest, "Really now? What do have in mind?"

"Well…" Kefka whispered his idea into his ear. The other madman felt a rare, small, sinister smirk cross his lips for the first time since FFVII (since he apparently 'transcended' such things since then- probably because of the overhype surrounding him giving the man Mary-Sue powers) as he listened.

"So, how does it sound to you?" The jester asked.

He turned to the clown, his smirk gone, "I'll admit… it's not a bad plan. But I must ask: why are you involving Cloud? I understand the child, but what do you desire of Cloud?"

Kefka was floating in the air at this point in time, scratching his butt. "Ah, you don't know? You really should have paid more attention." He said, shaking his head disapprovingly, "I didn't care what our 'comrades' were doing, but I at least made sure I knew what it was. That's how I was able to kill my old 'employer'- he didn't bother taking note of what I was doing on the side." His smirk widened, "Didn't know until it was too late."

"Save me your blather and inform me of what I missed."

Kefka rolled his eyes, "Fine, FINE! We'll do it your way…" The clown went back to his feet, stone serious yet again. He glared at Sephiroth, "For your information, your little gimp gave the girl something that really bumped his name up on my "To Kill" list. Right up there with that annoying twit with an airship fetish, onion rings, the thief, and the traitor." He counted them off on his fingers.

"What?"

The clown scowled, "He gave her some childish dream that, for reasons I can't claim to understand, gave her enough guts to confront me."

The swordsman gave him a blank stare, "A dream?"

Kefka let out an overdramatic groan, "Yes, a retarded dream."

Sephiroth folded his arms, "Preposterous. My puppet has no dream; he only searches for those of others."

"Yeah…" Kefka twirled his fingers around, "The thing is- she also gave him that same illusion too." At Sephiroth frown he added, "You remember the sissy flower boy? The one you took that stupid rose from to bait Chocobo-head?"

"…Yes."

"Well, you shouldn't have left that there for Blondie. You see…"

* * *

"…And there you go. You screwed me over; now you have to make it up to me."

A slow, frustrated grunt came from the Ex-SOLDIER, "Very well." He submitted. He glared at the smiling clown, "But know that I-"

"-Want something in return?" Kefka's grin widened, "I wouldn't worry about that: I'm a man of my _word_."

"You two!" The two sociopaths turned and saw Emperor Mateus arrive in a flash of light. He gave them a stern gaze, "I thought you might like to know that Lord Chaos is summoning new champions to aid us."

"Has he requested our presence?" Sephiroth questioned.

"No, but he did recommend you come see for yourselves." The despot answered, "I have already been informed of who they are, but you might want to see."

"Really, then where are you going, Empress?"

Both Mateus and Sephiroth gave the clown a dull look.

"What?" Kefka asked with an ornery grin on his face.

The Emperor shook his head and walked away, "You're the one wearing pounds of makeup, crooked jester. Next time, think before you act. As for me, I'll be preparing to make my first move."

Kefka rolled his eyes as The golden-clad ruler vanished. The clown turned towards Sephiroth, "Wanna go see what the fuss is all about?"

The silver-haired man nodded, and the two vanished...

* * *

At the dark, fiery summit of the Edge of Madness, three dark cocoons were forming in front of the God of Discord at his will as he used the power he had received from destroying Shinryu to bring forth departed villains from the past. Exdeath, the Cloud of Darkness, and Kuja looked on from the left of Chaos's throne while on Golbez and Jecht watched from the right.

"Wahohohoho!" Kefka's whooping cackle filled the air as the clown and his new associate arrived on the scene. "The KING has arrived! SO let the party BEGIN!"

The mad god flung out an Ultima spell into the air, a colossal blue explosion erupting above his head.

'_Annoying Show off…_' Pretty much everyone in the room (even the Cloud and Exdeath) thought to themselves, none of them entirely impressed.

"**Yes, yes; nice to see you come to greet your new associates. Now **_**SILENCE!"**_ The demon god roared. The Mad Mage complied and moved towards the left group.

He put his arms around the Cloud of Darkness and Kuja, eliciting discomforting glares from the two, "Hey, what's going on, old chums?"

"You had us purified in the 12th cycle. We may not harbor much ill will for you, but do not expect us to have our aid so easily." The Cloud responded before sinking into a pool of black and red darkness she had made below her. The manifestation of darkness and naught emerged on Exdeath's left side, the two sharing a look before she settled.

"…" Kefka turned his attention towards Kuja, who gave him a stiff glare.

"You not only had me slain, but also took that opportunity to seal away the more recent memories regarding my younger brother." He pushed the clown to the ground, looking at him with scorn.

Kefka gave a disapproving glare of his own, "You did try to betray Chaos- and get in the way of my pursuit of destruction. Be thankful I didn't sic the Manikins on you."

The Angel of Death scoffed, "Don't toy with me; I know you know that you can't do that. They won't attack Warriors of Chaos."

Kefka laughed in his face, "Really now? …but of course, you weren't around to see how I used them with my doll."

"Eh?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Right…" Kuja sighed, "Preferably I'd give you a taste of your own medicine. Since it seems that freeing your little canary from your control did the trick even more than I had thought, I'll let you off easy this time." and moved from his position at Exdeath's right hand side to the other side of their master's throne between Jecht and Golbez.

Sephiroth silently stood next to Golbez, the two giving each other a silent nod of acknowledgement as they observed the now fading cocoons of darkness.

"**Gentlemen! We come here gathered to- hold on."** Chaos paused the summoning/resurrection and looked to the left and right sides of him, **"Where is Mateus?"**

"He left." Sephiroth bluntly answered, "Spoke of knowing who would be summoned already."

The dark deity scratched his chin, **"He must have spied on my conversation with Garland before I sent the latter off. No matter."** Chaos clapped his hands and the despot appeared…

…battered and coated in black blood. The man was on his knees, breathing heavily.

The other Warriors of Chaos just stared at him.

Kefka picked at his ear disinteresting, and broke the silence, "So what were you up to in the ten minutes you were gone?"

The Emperor slowly got back onto his feet and grunted, "Retaking Hell… or rather, Pandemonium at least." Mateus noticed his 'master's' gaze looking down on him with a terrifying apathy.

"**Did you succeed?"**

The Emperor angrily glared at the god, but both he and Chaos himself knew that even with the forces of Pandemonium on his side, Mateus could do nothing to him. "…Yes." He replied as he used his own magic to heal himself.

Chaos said nothing and finished the resurrection/summoning process. **"Behold my minions! Meet the first of many new comrades…one of which, you should be familiar with."**

The first cocoon faded away, revealing what appeared to be a young, blonde-haired boy wearing an eye patch. He wore black and blue robes with yellow lining and had blue-eyes…or, at least, the eye they could see was blue. His hair was straight and cut short (**Thank you again, Final Fantasy Wiki!**)

"**Eald'narche: the ancient prince of the Zilart who tried to open the gates to Paradise and destroy Vana'diel as a result. His considerable magical skill and ability to summon enchanted mechanical assists make him a worthy adversary and addition to our ranks."**

Once the Zilart fully came to his senses, he frowned disapprovingly at what he correctly assumed were his allies. _'Humes and demons: what delightful assortment of fools…'_ He thought to himself. After looking at Chaos and sensing his power, however, he wisely chose to stay quiet and went towards the right of the god next to Sephiroth (not fond of being near the Cloud and Exdeath).

The second cocoon opened, revealing Judge Gabranth.

Chaos contemplated what he did to this one. Because Gabranth would have been less than willing to aid him in his goals (even more so than Golbez and Jecht), he had to make some…changes.

"**Judge Gabranth: Judge Magister of Arcadia. He assisted, and perhaps even persuaded, the then prince Vayne in framing his brother for betraying Dalmasca so it would fall under their control. Later, he attempted to provoke Dalmasca's princess to take her revenge and start a war that could've destroyed the world just to satisfy his own desires for vengeance himself."**

The armored man gazed at Chaos for a second, but decided to wait until later to ask questions. He moved to in between Jecht and Golbez.

Finally, the third and final cocoon opened, revealing an aged man wearing purple and white robes that- combined with his crown, made him resemble a Pope.

"**Galenth Dysley, or rather, Barthandelus: the Lord-Sovereign fal'Cie of the now-fallen Cocoon. With his shape-shifting powers and incredible magic, his strength was surpassed only by the floating utopia's power source fal'Cie: Orphan. With the latter's strength at his disposal, he is a force to be reckoned with."**

Super Pope here performed several calculations in his computer brain and frowned when he came to some…unfortunate conclusions. He took his seat in between the Emperor and the Cloud of Darkness.

With eleven of his now thirteen warriors by his side, the God of Discord grinned,

"**Now…let the chaos begin."**

* * *

"Hey, Mr. Blank, Mr. Marcus?"

The two thieves turned their heads towards their Black Mage charge and gasped when they saw two figures lying unconscious on the beach.

One of them was a man with brown hair wearing a light blue tunic and a pair of white tights. The other one had dusty blonde hair and wore a black coat. Upon further inspection (that the figure in question would be infuriated by), they deduced the second person was female. Both were also armed.

Blank and Marcus looked at each other and exchanged a knowing nod.

"We should take these two to Rusty."

* * *

**Y'know, I mentioned to some of my reviewers that this would be shorter than the last chapter, but this is just as long! **

**Be sure to review! Criticism is appreciated so long as it is constructive...**

**...One more thing. If you have any suggestions as to how to make this fic draw more attention from the surface, let me know. I'm not talking about the story content itself, just other things. I'm thankful for all of the people who have reviewed, favorited, and/or following this tale so far, but it is also important to draw new recruits as well.**

**See you next time! :D**


	8. A Misadventure in Babysitting

**Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War**

**Chapter 8: A Misadventure in Babysitting**

* * *

**Author's Note: I am so sorry this took over a month to finish! ...I honestly wasn't sure HOW I wanted to move things along after last chapter- especially since I've been focused on ONE in my head... also, school has picked up and is interfering with my plans. After writing _A Valentine's Fantasy_ and getting the first chapter of _The Misadventures of Mike and Mew_, I feel inspired anew! I'll see if I can't get two more done this month... no promises though, but I will try to get done with at least one chapter a month at minimum.**

**This puppy is a bit shorter than the last few, but gets many things done, so enjoy!**

* * *

**We now return to that period of time between when Rydia and Ceodore were left alone while Cecil awaited his guests, and when the two came back to the throne room.**

Rydia rushed through the halls, trying to find the 5-year old before he got himself into more trouble. _'If anything happens to him, I'm screwed! Cecil could have me hanged! …not that I wouldn't care otherwise, of course, but that's definitely a motivation.'_

Soon, however, she heard giggles in one of the kitchens and moved there. "Ceodore, what are you-!"

CRASH!

Ceodore was crawling on top of the kitchen cabinets, knocking over the plates there as he did so. Rydia hurriedly caught the falling plates with reflexes finely tuned by the battles she had had fought in the past. "Ceodore! Get-"She moved to catch a plate, "Get down from there _right. This. INSTANT!"_

Ceodore stopped for a second, contemplating the choice, but decided that he _really_ didn't want to take a nap and chose to continue his game.

Soon, however, there weren't any more plates to send down and the Summoner of Mist was free to nab him! "I've got you now, little guy!" She grinned as she fetched a nearby stepping stool (she just needed it to get a good hold the boy) and used that little bit of extra height to reach up and grab him…

…Only to find that he was no longer there.

'_Son of a bitch! …No offense to Rosa.'_ She thought angrily as she watched the boy across to the Airship deck. "That can't be good…"

She chased after him! Ceodore, seeing his auntie coming for him, dodged to a different room: the castle apothecary.

'_That's also not good.'_ She changed targets, intending to close the door before the young prince could get in, but Ceodore was able to use his head-start to out beat her to it…

…and lock her out.

"Crystals, Ceodore! If you don't come out here right this second I will-!" She heard Ceodore blow a raspberry at her, further inflaming her temper.

She forcefully blasted the door apart with an icy Blizzaga spell and searched the room. The chamber was full of pots and brews of (likely magical) potions set in several rows of shelves located at the back, along with a few tables covered in tablecloth. _'There's no telling what he could do here…'_

She looked under the tables and found the boy hiding beneath, shrouded by the table cloth used to protect them. The two shared a look before the boy bolted across the room, using the tables as cover. It didn't take along for the teal-ish green-haired Summoner to corner the 5-year old in the corner of the room.

Ceodore desperately looked around for an escape route, eyeing every inch of the room. Suddenly, a glint of a plan flashed in his eyes…

Rydia noted this with apprehension, "Ceodore…" she cautioned, keeping her gaze straight at him.

Before she could even blink, however, Ceodore rolled into the back wall, managing enough force to _knock all of them down._ The platinum-blonde haired quickly bolted out of the room, almost closing the door as he did so as the various magical elixirs and mixtures came crashing down the Summoner: some in colorful flashes. The room was now filled with smoke of many hues as the boy ran away, intending on having Rydia take the blame.

When the smoke settled, however, it wasn't a young woman that came out…

Rather, was a small pig with fur the same color as Rydia's teal-ish green hair, with teeny tiny little yellow and blue dots and stars here and there and accentuated her fine coat. Her eyes were that same sapphire blue as the Mist villager's as well, and had pale green fur for her underbelly. The little sow's hair seemed to have tufts near the eyes that resembled bangs sided off to the right; she even seemed to have that same red hair ornament Rydia was wearing on the exact same spot she had it on!

The small piggy was only about 1' 04 ft. tall, 2' 02 ft. wide, and was about 75 pounds (though she didn't feel that heavy if you held her). She was a rather small adult sow, but had a figure similar to a piglet's! She was such an adorable thing! A most peculiar little oddity was this somewhat small black mark in the middle of her body depicting a simple pig shape surrounded by a circle of runes.

Unfortunately, this little sow was Rydia. This transformation was also affecting her mind as her thought processes devolved, simplified and became more pig-like: well suiting her now swine body.

'_I've got to find …Ceodore! Must…'_ Rydia sniffed the air with her new nose and smelled several delicious aromas in the air, making her squeal in delight! _ "Food?! I smell food! Where is it?! Must have food! Then maybe take nap! Or roll in nice, mushy mud! I like mud! Mud is best! And sleep!"_ The little piggy scampered off, oinking all the way down; forgetting everything she was doing before her transformation so that she could satisfy her new urges…

…Eh, she could get to that later, for all the summoner-turned-pig cared.

But how did she turn back? Did she REALLY turn back? Am I just being ridiculous?!

The answer to the last one is YES. As for the others…

* * *

**Around the same time as the above… at Ruby's Theatre Tavern….**

"Uncle Marcus?"

The ex-thief gave the kid a goofy smile as he turned from his barstool, nursing a large keg of liquor, "Whas is at, widdle bubby…" he drunkenly

Vava looked at the glass he had been given himself in apprehension, "Are you sure It's okay for me to drink this?"

Blank slammed his keg on the table, "DRINK YOUR GODDAMN BOOOZE!"

"O-o-okay!" Vava stammered, now too scared to question his current guardians' questionable conduct.

* * *

**Meanwhile, in the more present day…**

The Warriors of Light had been waiting for their Thief for a two weeks now, yet there was still no sign of him. They had thankfully been able to rent their rooms at the Outpost in exchange for providing food by hunting, but still there was no sign of Tuss or the airship for that matter.

To make things worse, it was unbearably hot today. For the mages, they only had to take off their robes. Walz was good with the minimalist Gi he already had on (it's the only thing he ever seemed to wear). But the Warrior, who wore a Cosmos-forsaken suit of armor, this was his _hell_. He HAD clothes under his armor, but refused to take the suit off in case of a monster attack.

Right now, in the middle of the afternoon, they were sitting under the trees near the port, seeking shade from the hot sun.

Zok and Walz had large beards at this point.

"Why are we wearing these fake beards?" the monk finally asked, ripping his off.

Zok glared at the Walz as he picked up the fake follicles and forcefully handed them back, "To make a statement. Now put it back on in case Sauber finally arrives so we can properly chew him out!"

The Black Mage had taken off his blue robes and revealed the yellow and red striped tunic and green and yellow striped pants he wore underneath. He still wore his hat and had a blue scarf to hide his face, though.

"In all honesty, they just make you look ridiculous." Floe commented, lying on the ground. She was wearing a white short dress with pink lining similar to the red-kind found on her robes along with a long, red skirt.

Zok opened his (unseen) mouth to retort, but then realized he didn't have any good ones, "…maybe, but it makes a _statement!"_

"A statement that you're being a complete drama queen…" Gill muttered, getting a laugh from the White Mage and the Monk, but an indignant glare from the Black Mage. Gill had taken off her red cloak to reveal her red tunic and grey and white striped tights. Right now she was leaning against the tree itself- looking like she was dozing off, but in reality was keeping a watchful eye out and they're surroundings.

The Warrior was silent- not even looking in their direction, but focused to the direction of the sea. Was he simply too focused on keeping an eye out for Sauber? Or perhaps he was sleeping with his eyes open?

If you thought either of those, you were sadly mistaken.

Currently, the Warrior was frozen solid in a block of ice.

He had vehemently refused to take off his armor even with the risk of heat stroke; declaring it bad taste to remove it when the possibility of a monster attack was still a factor. Instead, the stubborn jackass requested to be sealed within a pillar of ice by Zok and Gill. The two were _more_ than happy to indulge this request: believing that this would teach him a lesson upon realizing the insipidity of his demand…

….Needless to say, that part didn't work…

After having taken off the wig a second time, Walz found himself lost in thought, his face scrunched up in concentration.

Floe took notice of this, "Is something wrong? Where are you-?" Walz pointed up to the sky. When Floe looked, she didn't notice anything wrong, "There isn't anything in the sky, Walz."

He shook his head, "Don't you see the clouds randomly freezing in place, or them disappearing and reappearing all weird?"

"So you can see them too…," Gill mused to herself, getting the other two's and having overheard their conversation. She turned her head to face them, "I've been seeing the same phenomenon in the skies as well. Now Walz?"

"Huh? I mean- yes?"

She looked up directly at the sky, "Have you noticed at night what seemed to be another moon in the sky?"

Walz paused in thought for a minute or two- going through his memories. Eventually, however, he shook his head, "Nah, I haven't really been paying attention at night."

"What's this about a second moon?" Zok but in, looking at them with what they assumed to be furrowed brows.

"Indeed." The Red Mage confirmed for him, "I noticed, though, that this moon seems to be red… have you been seeing anything strange in the skies?"

"No," The Black Mage shrugged, "but I doubt you would make stuff like that up and you aren't a complete moron like Walz here."

"Hey!"

"Guys…" Floe pointed to the skies, "You might want to see this…"

The other four looked in that direction and gaped when they saw none other than their literally ship-like airship come zooming towards them, Sauber at the helm piloting like a man possessed.

The Warrior forcefully broke free of the ice at the sight and noticed something he assumed only Gill also had, "It would seem he encountered far more trouble than he had anticipated…"

* * *

"Uncle Marcus, Uncle Blank?" Vava asked, having been made to hide in a closet of an inn, "What are you doing with those two ladies? And why-?"

"SHUT. UP, VAVA!"

* * *

The Realm of Sleep, known to some as the Sleeping Worlds, others as the Dream World and even some as Sub-con. Whichever name you give it, it is where worlds made of dreams exist and where people and even entire worlds that have befallen… unusual circumstances, are sent to dwell forever in most circumstances.

This is the fate that has befallen Ultimecia, the Sorceress of Time, after she had been defeated after trying to absorb the entire space-time continuum of her world. Unable to escape the prison that she had arranged for herself, the sorceress was left alone to her thoughts for all eternity.

The albino witch had contemplated the events which led her to committing her vile actions in her world…

_I can't remember much of my early life, but I remember that my parents loved me very much even when I was born with the white hair and amber eyes of Ultimecia. I was descended in some form from none other than Squall and Rinoa Leonhart and was how I received the Sorceress Power. I was hated and reviled by all but them and my knight… I believe he was a descendant of the Seifer I had used subtle brainwashing to make him obey me. Perhaps I saw him in the Lion's rival…_

_I may not remember what they looked like, but I know I truly loved them with all my heart... it was when I lost all three of them that I declared myself by the very name of the sorceress I had been accused of being. I lost my parents to a mob that desired to kill the last remaining sorceress known to exist. I tried to convince them that I would never do any of the things she would, but they didn't listen and started bombing the house. Mother and Father forced me to flee and leave them to die for me, but I had refused. Ultimately, my mother was forced to use a Guardian Force to teleport me out of harm's reach._

_I felt cold, miserable, and hateful after that day, and almost would have then become the evil sorceress of their nightmares… if I didn't meet him. He found me hiding in a forest and took me to safety. He feared me at first and became my knight only to avoid my wrath, but as time went by he stopped seeing me as the time witch and more for who I really was. Eventually he asked me to marry him. It was going to be a very small ceremony with only the two of us an Airship Captain that had been stranded with us. Life would have been perfect…_

…_But time would not let me escape my miserable destiny, and we were found by White SeeD agents. They tried to snipe us all down, aiming for the captain first before turning to me and him. When they aimed for me, he used his own body as a shield for me. In his last moments, he gurgled out that he loved me._

_That was the last straw._

_I finally snapped and used my magic to kill them all! If they wanted the demon witch, then they would get her! I dubbed myself Ultimecia and never turned back sense. I quickly conquered the world and turned those that would oppose me into servants or monsters to follow my bidding! I made a grand castle for myself capable of making roost anywhere! I single handedly destroyed the people that killed my parents and my Knight and all those related to them! I corrupted Guardian Forces for my own use and commissioned a beast whose power surpassed even the Ultima Weapon of old: the Omega Weapon!_

…_.Yet even that didn't satisfy me, for I knew that it would be my destiny to be killed by the Legendary SeeD- two of them having been my ancestors. I knew my only chance of escaping that fate was by doing the same thing the Ultimecia of the history books attempted- Time Compression._

_One may ask why I tried it even when I knew from history that it would end in my death. The answer is that… I couldn't believe that until I did it myself. I just needed to try, even if it did end in my death. For a chance to become that of Hyne himself, to rule over all of existence as its sole, solitary being…_

…_to be reunited with my parents, and with my love…_

_My hate for my world will never die. I don't care what history says- I'll just _rewrite_ it to my desires! I'll get my vengeance- all worlds will bow before Ultimecia: The Eternal Goddess of Time!_

"_**Excellent… you're just what I'm looking for…"**_

The Sorceress turned around in the empty black void she now inhabited to find it filling with blood red clouds. It looked like a scene from a nightmare.

"Who are you?" Ultimecia commanded sternly, "Show yourself!"

"…_**Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha…HA! HA HA HA HA HA!"**_ the demonic male voice cackled, lightning crackling in the clouds as he did, _**"My poor dear… you were sent to the Nightmarish Abyss: MY DOMAIN!"**_

The Fusilier gasped as the voice revealed itself to be a gigantic black shadow. His head was small and covered in a billowing wispy substance like hair that covered one of the only things on him that wasn't just black: one of his bright blue pupil-less eyes. He appeared to have a large, jewel-like red growth around his small neck that almost hid his head. His shape resembled that of an hourglass figure wearing an old black cloak. He had claw-like hands and huge arms that ended in tatters at his shoulders.

Ultimecia grimaced, but stood her ground; folding her arms in defiance, "You didn't answer my question."

The shadow folded his arms as well, seemingly amused by the question, _**"AH, yes… you aren't from the world I come from. In my world, I was one of the embodiments of nightmares that kept the balance of the Dream World in check with our counterpart species… but I was what you call a special case and I attempted to cover my world with darkness by manipulating a greedy human and his followers. He was shrewd, and nearly had me at times, but I nearly succeeded… if it weren't for **_**those**_** two and their friends…"**_

The dark clouds took a fiery blue hue at this and the fiend's eyes went blood red in response to his anger. The sorceress was tempted to ask who '_those _two' were, but decided it was best not to unnecessarily enrage a being in complete control of her prison. So he continued, _**"The four of them… they were my first stumbling block. I was cast into the darkness, but I returned to take my revenge on those two. Our world, it seemed, had been destroyed by creatures of darkness similar but very different from myself. I allied myself with their enemies intending to betray them and rule the darkness myself, but was defeated once more, this time by those two and new allies… a few I recognized to be in your new one…"**_

"Oh, do I know them?" Ultimecia asked in a sarcastic tone; certain she knew a certain group of SeeD that could be responsible.

The fiend seemed to know what she was thinking and let out a dull laugh of equal sarcasm, _**"Hah-hah-hah- no, it wasn't: I'm talking about your **_**new **_**world… one in which your fate is no longer set in stone."**_ He added as an afterthought.

Ultimecia's eyes brightened at the prospect of a world in which she wasn't fated to die and could get her revenge, but didn't speak and let it continue, _** "Back on topic, I was reduced to a shadow in even the Realm of Darkness. Yet I raised again a few more times before I was finally trapped in the lowest pits of slumber forever…. Until I found you, of course."**_ The clouds then changed to a sickly green hue along with his eyes; appearing to communicate his twisted joy.

She put a disfigured hand to her chin in thought, "Is that so? And why is it that you need me?"

The shadow broke his serious composure and giddily clapped his arms, _**"I'm glad you asked! I too desire to leave this place and fully resurrect myself! All I need to do is hitch a ride in your shadow when you leave!"**_

Ultimecia frowned in disapproval, unwilling to put her trust in such a nebulous deity, "And I should listen to you why? If I'm already in the deepest pits of slumber, you can't really do anything worse to me other than terrify me- and I'll become accustomed to even that in due time."

The angry blue clouds returned and lightning frantically sparked within them, the shadow glaring at her with eyes hateful red once more, _**"Oh really?! Then you should know that you **_**are**_** planned to be rescued by your old allies-!"**_

Then made Ultimecia raise an eyebrow, "Since when have I had allies?"

The fiend facepalmed, _**"**_**Ugh! **_**Will you shut up and let me **_**FINISH FOR ONCE?! HUH?!"** He roared, the skies thundering in response. He put a claw to his forehead and worked to regain his composure, _**"Now, now, we mustn't lose our tempers and **_**kill the broad**_** like the last one…"**_

He let out a deep breath and continued what he was going to say pointing at her viciously, _**"Your new/old allies will come to recruit you and save you but as long as I can keep you here with me they won't be able to recover **_**either of US!**_**"**_

'_Trapped with this shadow forever… not the worst fate I can think of, but I _do_ want to escape this prison.'_ I see… very well, you have a deal."

"_**Good…"**_ The clouds returned to their default red, _**"And in return, I'll even help you pass some time by telling you of a few… tales regarding other worlds…"**_

"Such as?"

"_**Ever heard of the concept of the Heart of all Worlds? A little something I learned from my last cohort- I believe his name was "Tab" something…"**_

* * *

The Pig-transformed Rydia snuck into the kitchens, watching out for any guards or cooks on the way, and beheld the feast that was to be served later that day for all the important guests from other nations…

…However, for Pig-ified Summoner of Mist, all that really mattered was that it smelled good and didn't appear inedible or poisonous.

'_FOOD! SO MUCH FOOD!'_ The little green pig squealed , before getting herself up onto the table using the chairs and digging in. She started off by gobbling the fruits and vegetables, plucking them down one by one. Then she went towards the grain products…

**Meanwhile…**

A elderly woman with graying black hair and green eyes wearing a green and white dress/robe (think of the Chemist job class in FFV) was rushing down the hallway when she had heard the crash from much earlier this chapter. As the Head Chemist of Baron's military, she and her assistants were in charge of every single concoction made for use until it was proven safe enough for use by both military and civilian personnel.

"Mistress Syrup!" A voice rang out behind her. Rushing towards her was a girl with short-cut black hair and brown eyes wearing a similar robe to the now named Syrup, "Granny!"

"I told you not to call me that on the job, Maple!" The old crone snapped while still running, "If you're going to my apprentice, you better a-"

."-Act like the others, I know! What's going on?!" Maple had easily caught up now and was just keeping pace.

The two Chemists made it to the apothecary…

Needless to say, Syrup trembled in rage at the sight, a vein throbbing on her forehead and face contorted in unrivaled rage.

Maple looked on the mess and winced at the huge mess the young girl would undoubtedly have to clean up, "Gran- I mean, Mistress Syrup…"

Granny Syrup sad nothing, and examined the room for any sign of a perpetrator, "Maple… start… searching… for evidence before I lose my temper, all right?" She hissed through clenched teeth.

Maple nodded and looked under the tables her grandmother's back prevented her from checking. Eventually, she discovered a stray piece of blue cloth.

She handed it over to Syrup, who sniffed at it and examined it closely, "These gold linings… Prince Ceodore!"

The apprentice Chemist then noticed a puddle of what appeared to be a pink fluid on the floor. _'Pink fluid… what was that a sign of again? A pig spell? And if the prince was here, that must mean…'_ "Could Lady Rydia have fallen victim to a Pig spell, Gran- I mean, Mistress Syrup?"

The elder Head Chemist looked at the sight and grinned proudly, "I was hoping you noticed that- good girl!"

"So that means…"

"We have a Piggified Summoner and a prince to find!"

* * *

**Back to where we had left Zidane, but before Blank, Marcus, and Vahan found those other two…**

"Thunder!"

Steiner's sword became charged with Thunder magic before it quickly faded away. The armored knight shook his head at his student, "Getting better since you didn't shock me like the last few times, Master Vivi, but still needs work. Try again."

Vivi Jr. nodded, and once again cast a thunder spell on Steiner's sword, staying for a few more seconds before fading again.

"Closer, but it needs to stay just a little longer to be able to be used with a sword slash. Keep trying, young sir." Steiner encouraged the boy. Adelbert Steiner was a stocky middle-aged man with traditional silver knight's armor and a hat like helmet with a feather in it, as well as the pair of black shorts. His gloves and shoes are also armored in the same manner.

The young Black Mage hung his head discouragingly, "I don't think I this- I'm no good with Thunder spells already, how could I use it to help you?"

The knight bended down to his level and put a supportive hand on his shoulder, "Master Vivi Jr. …. The reason I've enlisted you for this training is because your father, Master Vivi Sr., had the same troubles with Thunder Spells as well.

"Really?" the child asked, astonished that his dad, whom he and his siblings regarded as a 'supreme sorcerer, was the just like him once.

"Indeed."

The Knight and the Black Mage turned around and saw the General of Alexandria's all-female military as well as a Paladin and (surprisingly) lover of Steiner (likely, she wears the pants in that relationship), "Vivi Sr. was a very skilled mage that stood as an inspiration to your kind. In fact… I believe he even mastered the forbidden spell: Doomsday."

Beatrix was a tall, slender, curvy woman with chestnut brown hair. She wore a band-like silver eye-patch over her right eye (it's unknown if it was mutilated, or simply went blind in a training incident- she's probably too good for the former so we'll go with the latter) and the un-obscured left eye was of a red-violet hue.

She wore a red and white sleeveless duster with a rose embroidered on the back and reddish brown leggings plus a belt on which the sheath of her blade, the white and red Save the Queen, was stored. For armor, she had silver boots and gloves and additional armor on her right arm.

Vivi Jr. gaped in awe, "Forbidden spell? Doomsday- wait…" Vivi put a finger to his (unseen) chin, "If it's forbidden, then why-?"

"It's forbidden because it deals tremendous damage to not only enemies, but only allies and yourself." Steiner injected sternly, "It can kill everyone in its massive zone of effect."

"Oh…."

"Hey, guys!" Zidane called out as he and Vava entered the courtyard, the Genome giving present company a thumbs up.

"Good day to you as well…" Suddenly, the Captain of the Pluto Knights halted as he remembered something important, "…..Blast it!" Steiner jumped up and down in frustration, his armor making clinking sounds as he did so, "Today's lesson!"

Don't worry, dear, that's what I can here for. He's just early…" Beatrix reassured him. She turned back to Zidane, "So, I would assume you're not just here for small talk?"

Zidane shook his head, "Not yet… hey, Rusty!"

Steiner's eyes twitched at the old nickname, but replied in kind, "Yes, lowly thief?"

Zidane smirked for a second, before going into an uncharacteristic frown, "It's about Vahan… he's with Blank and Marcus."

Steiner didn't seem happy about this, folding his arms, "Really… but haven't they been in charge of his wellbeing before without trouble?"

The ex-thief grimaced, "Yeah… but that was during the afternoon or at night- this is in the morning."

Beatrix opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when she found no words would come out that would properly communicate her reaction. She put a finger to her forehead, "Very well, why is it such a problem if this is happening in broad daylight? Would that not be the safest time for Vahan's innocence?"

The soon-to-be king's eyes went shifty, "Yeah… you'd think that, but that's not how _those_ establishments work in Alexandria…"

Both knights glared at the ex-thief, knowing that he must have kept this from them for a reason, "And how would you know that… Zidane?" Steiner lightly threatened, clearly saying "Spill it now, and your beating will be less severe".

"Hey, don't assume so quickly _I've_ been a customer." Zidane held his hands out in defense, secretly thinking to himself, _'Not here, anyway…'_ "Rather, when I was younger…"

"Let's not go farther and simply find them, shall we?" Beatrix waived her hand dismissively, not wanting to reflect on the implications. The ex-thief had already been made to confess to whatever 'encounters' he may have had in the past, and they certainly didn't need to hear more. She turned to her beloved by the young mage, "Shall we head off to apprehend two felons for inappropriate conduct?"

Steiner readied his blade, "Lets." He marched off, "Come, Master Vivi!"

The Black Mage nodded and hurried after him, following his mentor in the Magic Sword skill as well as his legal guardian and the Paladin in pursuit of the Tantalus members…

…

Finally back to the present…

Vava, Vivi Jr., and Vahan watched as the future king, the Captain of the Royal Guard, the General of the royal army beat the tar out of the two thieves after learning what they expose Vahan to.

Meanwhile, the two castaways the actors/thieves had found woke up to clamor.

"What the bloody hell is with that racket…" the dark blonde-haired woman garbed in captain's garb asked, quickly absorbing in her surroundings (something one had to learn to do when your compatriots were pirates likely to kill you to take your position).

There was a man decked in full knights armor, a brown haired woman wearing an eye-patch, and what seemed to be a young man with (she did a doubletake at this) a _monkey's tail-_ an honest to god's monkey tail- pounding up a stout troll-like man wearing a red bandana and a sleeveless blue shirt and a red haired man with a belt covering his eyes and skin patched up like Frankenstein's monster.

The pirate woman sat silently at the absurdity of what she was witnessing.

The brown-haired man, however, felt a strange familiarity when he saw the monkey-boy, "Hey! You guys!" The natives looked back at the two otherworlders in surprise, not expecting them to wake up so soon.

Zidane seemed to have that same sense of recognition upon seeing Bartz's face, "Hi! You guys are up already…?"

The two stood facing each other for a while, wondering why it felt like they were best friends reunited…

….

"_**Well, well, well…. Let's see… That mechanical menace is acting just as planned- not very intelligent, is it? Were it not capable of great destruction it wouldn't even be of much concern. That mere robot may be powerful and capable of becoming more so, but it can never match that of Cosmos's pawns and their friends when they work together. It doesn't help that it's A.I. isn't the hard to manipulate and even rewrite if you're able to learn how it works…**_

…_**That fact that it's internal navigation drive is complete shit **_**never seems to get better **_**also doesn't help it. I probably didn't even need to hide myself in the invisible rift between what used to be the barriers separating these worlds that have always been connected in a way in the first place.**_

_**All I had to do is focus pieces of my still shattered essence to certain locations and it will attack without mercy. That'll keep Cosmos's pawns busy and will soon distract Chaos's with the promises of its power long enough for me to revive myself and destroy the machine, the two gods, and their warriors… or perhaps, I'll just play another game with them. After all, that's why I let Omega live- it always brings such wonderful games in its place!**_

_**So far, I've only led the robot to Faris Scherwiz's ship. What to lead it to next…**_

* * *

**Much was revealed, wasn't it...?**

**If you know where Syrup and Maple come from, put it into a review/PM and you'll get a shout out in the next chapter! ;)**

**Here's a bit of trivia regarding this story's development: in an earlier version of Chapter 3 when Garland and Mateus meet again, originally, the Emperor was going to surround Garland with various traps which Garland would then use against him in a painful explosion... also, in an early version of Chapter 4, it was going to show the Warriors of Chaos that were there starting to climb up the mountain. Mateus would have tried to attck Garland in retaliation only for the Fell Knight to take it from him and use to do sodomize him.**

**Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter and be sure to review! As usual, criticism is always appreciated so long as it is constructive!**


	9. Fleeting Peace

**Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War**

**Chapter 9: Fleeting Peace**

* * *

**It seems like the end of the first arc is approaching upon us... peacetime is nearing its end for our heroes, and Chaos and his hoes are out for vengence (most of them). That won't be pretty...**

**Oh, and if you check both of our profiles, you'll notice that The Unknowing Herald and I have plans for something. We're both Terra fans (we can't quite agree who to ship her with, but blood hasn't been spilt) and have a sort of zeal in our writing, so it was only a matter of time... I have work to do before we get there, so now more than ever your support be appreciated!**

**Now Enjoy!**

* * *

_I quietly followed Lord Kefka down the cold metal hallways to the training room._

_Lord Kefka had a large grin on his face- that's when I knew something bad was going to happen. According to Doctor Cid, he wasn't always a scary man, but a normal one. Apparently, he was the first person to get a Magitek infusion, but it went all funny. Celes was the second to get one, but she didn't go funny and was my best friend until I was put with Lord Kefka…_

…_I miss her so much…_

"_Well, well, well." Lord Kefka said happily, "Today is the day you truly become the ultimate weapon of our empire! I hope you're ready to prove yourself…"_

_I gulped. I didn't like where this was going. From what I understand, a weapon is something used to fight with like a sword or a dagger… Am I supposed to become a sword? He's probably taking about my powers…_

_We finally entered the room, but instead of there being a pit in the middle filled with monsters for me to fight, there was an armored man… he seemed to shaking in fear at me. Why? What is going on here?_

_Lord Kefka impatiently tapped his feet as I stood there looking in confusion. Finally he was fed up by my inaction and shook me around, "Well, what are you WAITING FOR?! A sign? KILL HIM!"_

_Kill him… I gasped in realization, "I have to kill this person?"_

_Lord Kefka glared at me, "Of course you do! Now…" He handed me a sword, "Get to it! Fry him- or stab him! Whichever works! JUST do it!"_

_He pointed up to the balcony, "You don't want to disappoint our emperor, do you?"_

_I looked up and, indeed, I saw Emperor Gestahl in his normal black and red robes, waiting with a proud smile on his face. He always seemed to treat me with some kindness when I've met with him before, but there was something… off about it. There was something missing in it that I once found in General Leo and Celes's when I used to see those 5 years ago…_

_I hesitantly approached the solider, unsure about hurting him. I've only fought monsters in the past, but he isn't a monster? How am I supposed to do this?_

_Apparently, Lord Kefka must have signaled him to attack me because right as was thinking about that, he came rushing at me with his sword, trying to hurt me. He looked angry and scared at the same time…_

_I blocked the move with hesitation, and countered with a low powered Fire blast- enough to knock him off his feet, but it wouldn't make him die._

_I muttered an apology to the incapacitated man and walked off. He just looked at me hatefully, "Come back here, you monstrous she-beast!"_

_I turned back- monster? I've heard Lord Kefka call me that before, but this was the first time I've heard anyone else call me that, "Why did you call me a monster?"_

_The soldier coughed, and then told me, "Little girls can't use magic! Lieutenant Celes only can because of an infusion! You're just a purple-eyed monster disguised as a girl…!"_

…_I'm not just special like Celes? I was told I was a special case, but could I really just be a beast? Is that what that power really is inside me?_

_I shook my head, "No… I'm not monster- and you can't fight anymore- this fight's over…" I said as calmly as I could, but my voice cracked just a bit as I considered what he said. He passed out unconscious soon afterwards._

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! __**KILL HIM!"**_ _Lord Kefka shouted, not happy that I didn't really kill him the man. He came rushing towards me and hit me off my feet, and kept doing that until I gave him an answer… but not the one he wanted._

"_N-n-no! I-I won't do it! I'm n-not a monster!" I cried out in tears, not entirely believing what I was saying anymore. I wasn't sure if I was a monster, but all just made too much sense for me not to be human either- why I was treated that way, why I couldn't see Celes or General Leo anymore…_

…_It really came to me when I saw the Emperor and noticed that his usual smile was gone, replaced by a fierce frown. Now I knew both he AND Lord Kefka were using me like this. This just made me cry harder… but I wasn't going to change my mind- if people like Celes were out there beyond this palace, then I shouldn't just start killing everything like they wanted. I would never do that no matter what they say…_

_Lord Kefka was really mad now, but before he went and vented his rage on me, he calmed down, "Fine…" He turned to the soldier, "Then I'll just have to demonstrate…."_

_He then cast a Fira (something I haven't learned yet) from his hand and slowly roasted the man right in front of me, the crackle of the flames drowned out his screams but not Lord Kefka's laughter…_

* * *

Terra woke up with a start once again in a cold sweat. As she calmed down, she reflected on this recent nightmare- no- memory, _'Something's wrong… these memories had stopped returning a year ago, yet now not only are they coming back, but they've been almost all horrible ones…'_

The former Half-Esper realized that this must have been when the decision to have the Slave Crown used on her was made. In a way… she was almost relieved that the reason was because she was too gentle. One of her biggest fears was that she had become twisted and hateful and tried killing the Emperor in a fit of rage- succeeding in making her a monster similar to Kefka, and since Celes never saw her for years until they reunited at Narshe… so this was a relief of sorts as well as a horrid nightmare.

Once again up early, Terra went through the motions and went downstairs, finding Relm talking with two unexpected, but much loved guests…

"Locke! Celes!" The adoptive mother of ten raced down to greet them, giving her two best friends a big hug (they were the only people she was comfortable doing so outside of her kids).

Locke Cole was a tall, strapping man of 29 years of age with pale brown hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a multicolored bandana- mostly dark blue with a predominately yellow stripe on the bottom. He wore black pants and white boots, as well as blue-lined black short-sleeved vest over a white shirt.

Celes Chere was an also tall woman only an inch shorter than Locke of 22 years of age (she was over half a year older than Terra, whose 22nd birthday had yet to pass) with long blonde hair of a less pale hue than her formerly Half-Esper foil decorated with a beaded band near the top, skin as white as the ice she once wielded, and blue eyes. She wore yellow pants and boots similar to Locke's as well as a yellow vest over a navy-blue shirt with green sleeves- both with colorful pink lining. A pink belt with the sheath to her sword hung on her waist; her assemble finished with gold shoulder pads upon with a white cloak was attached.

Celes was a bit taken back by her sudden display of affection since she hadn't seen her in a while and forgot that the (technically still) Half-Esper was more likely to be a hugger than she was, but did return it with a smile, "Good to see you too, Terra."

Locke was more relaxed about it and didn't have much of a problem. The three separated, "We were hoping we could surprise you before you got up, but that didn't seem to happen." The Treasure Hunter (*cough* thief *cough*) explained nonchalantly.

Terra smiled, though the pain in her eyes from minutes before was still there, "Sorry about ruining that… but it's great we managed to meet up again!"

The former General noticed something in her friend's eyes, but stayed silent about and only mouthed, "We'll talk later" to her.

Terra nodded in response, unnoticed by Locke and Relm, who were continuing a conversation they were having earlier before she came down. The Half-Esper was about to start preparing the ingredients for the breakfast she had planned for later, but then her lavender-blue purple eyes widened as she remembered-

"Wait…" She turned back to Locke and Celes, "Didn't you say in your last letter that you two were in Narshe helping to rebuild while there weren't any performances for Celes in the Opera House at Jidoor? I recall even writing back to see if I could meet up with you for a break now that things have stabilized here for now."

The Adventurer and the ex-General gave each other a hesitant look before Locke began, "That's the problem here… just yesterday we had just left Figaro… then there was a cover of mist fell upon us as we traveled north, and…"

"We just arrived here an hour ago on a completely different part of this torn globe." Celes finished, looking Terra directly in the eye with a stone serious expression, "I can feel it too, though not as strongly as you… there's some other source of magic out now, isn't there?"

The Half-Esper stayed silent.

"Ter-"

"I'm sorry, but can we please maybe continue this after breakfast?" Terra interrupted, not looking them in the eye as she got the bowls and utensils out.

Locke raised his hand in objection, but Celes held it down. She shook her head in negative, prompting the Treasure Hunter to sigh. They both knew how Terra wasn't fond of discussing… certain details regarding her past, but they hoped that at least she'd talk just a little about the subject at hand before brushing them off (well, brushing off as far as she went).

After that, they silently moved to help their friend out- It seemed any questions regarding magic would have to wait until this was done…

* * *

The Warriors of Light ran out of the way as their airship came sliding into the ground- still able to take flight, but telling of the condition of its pilot. The shockwave sent by the crash knocked them all off their feet and made the nearby Outpost shake.

When the dust settled, the Warrior, Gill, and Walz were the first to get onto their feet as the less physically adept Mages took a bit longer. The Red Mage was the first to reach Sauber's side, supporting the battered and bloodied thief's left side after he forced himself to slide down the emergency exit rope.

The Warrior and the Monk soon joined her and the prince, Walz helping support his right and guided him over to Floe for healing. The healer prepared a more comfortable 'bed' for the rouge using her and Zok's robes (but not Gill's cloak as she had a feeling the Red Mage may still need it) and had him rested on it and began closely attending to his wounds, focusing her Curative magic to the task.

Floe grimaced at the extent of her friend's wounds: his left arm and right leg were broken, his ribs slightly crushed, but at least he didn't' wait- nope, he had a concussion too. _'What a lovely mess I have to work with…'_ she thought dryly to herself; not fond of the nasty healing process to occur… it was almost as bad emotionally to heal a wound than to cause one due to the grim attention to detail involved.

Sauber groaned in pain as the magic did its work, the feeling of bones and tissues mending only half-dulled. Gill tried using her own White Magic to help dull the pain only for the Thief to grunt in protest. He forced himself to speak after Floe had healed him just enough, "A-a-astos… he-"

"Don't force yourself to speak," The Red Mage lectured, "Just let her finish- you're in no condition to do anything right now-"

"ASTOS AND GARLAND!" The Elf prince broke through, having to cough up blood to do it.

The other Warriors of Light froze. The Warrior himself crouched down and tried to force the answer out of him, a crazed panic in his eyes, "What did they say?!" he shook him roughly (reopening some wounds), "WHAT-?!"

"NO!" Walz held him back, the Warrior's other comrades glared at their leader, appalled by his ruthless actions.

"Get a hold of yourself, TIN MAN!" Zok yelled at him, walking up just to punch him in the face, "What the hell is your problem! I'm the one that does things like that!"

The Warrior seemed to regain his senses after he realized the ZOK of all people was chiding him. He took a few deep breathes, and said with true regret in his eyes, "I…" He sighed loudly, "I truly am sorry for the way I acted… it was deplorable."

"No shit." The Black Mage deadpanned.

Gill was still glaring at him, untrusting of the knight's words.

Walz had let go of him at this point as he calmly went up to the thief companion, "Sauber… forgive me, I lost my-"

"Th-th-th-ey killed everyone! They're coming!" The rogue cried out over his apology, "C-c-rescent! It's next…!"

The Warriors of Light all shared a glance (even the incapacitated Sauber).

"All right- Gill! Zok! The three of us will take the airship and try to beat them there." He issued out the orders as he began climbing his way up the rope, the Black Mage immediately following him up.

Gill was still wary of the Warrior after what he tried to do. Walz was about to go with them before she held him back, "Walz… no."

"But-"The mage looked into his brown eyes with her green ones, cutting him off.

"I can see it in your eyes- you are not happy with him either." The Red Mage calmly elaborated for him, "But it won't do Sauber or Floe good if you go with us. Stay here and guard them with your life. I'll keep an eye on him…"

Walz looked down, fists clenched, but reluctantly nodded in agreement, "Why would he try to hurt Sauber like that… that's Zok's territory…." He questioned sadly.

Gill sighed, "I don't know… it isn't like him to act so rashly… he's hiding something."

"You're going to find it, right?" The two turned around and saw Floe's softer teal eyes bear up upon them pleadingly; still healing Sauber… the Warrior's shaking him reopened some wounds that she had to go about fixing again.

The wisest of the six heroes nodded, a gentle smile on her face, "Even if I have to tear it out of him."

The White Mage smiled sadly and returned her full focus to healing Sauber; Walz going up to protect her until-

"WAIT!" Zok jumped down from the airship, going down over to Floe. He glared at the Monk and the Red Mage, "I'LL take care of her! You don't even have any ethers on you!"

Gill rolled her eyes, knowing that was far from the real reason he had literally jumped ship for the task, "Very well… your robe was being used as a bed for Sauber anyway…."

The Black Mage's eyes widened as he saw his signature blue robes bathed the thief's blood. He let out an angry groan and turned to flip the Red Mage off before heading towards the other two.

Gill shook her head and braced herself as the airship raised itself out of the ground and a little farther away so that the pull-out stairs could be released. After that was over, she climbed up and joined the two companions waiting for her…

* * *

**Author's Note: This segment is what's taken me the longest time since I'm not used to writing stuff like this… but I'll have to do so eventually anyway, so I chose to keep going with it. Tell me what you think here.**

As promised way back in Chapter 5, Squall had indeed taken Rinoa on a date after he finished his paperwork.

They had booked a reservation (on Squall's own paycheck- mind you, not Garden funds) at the Galbadian Grand Hotel, where the two would get to relax for a couple days as the SeeD Commander took a few vacation days off.

Squall walked Rinoa into the grand lounge, where his father once watched her mother play on the piano back before the two were separated and fell in love with Raine Leonhart and General Fury Caraway respectively.

Rinoa whistled in admiration for its class, "Wow… this is a beautiful place… to think mom used to play here…"

"To think my dad stared at her here." Squall countered, making them both shudder at the thought... It was a disturbing thought to both of them that they could have almost been siblings and rendered their relationship with each other sin.

The Lion mentally shook his head, _'all right- time for the penultimate mission: wait for the right opportunity, then strike…'_ He felt around his right pocket and the small bow it held within it.

The two walked towards the right, where they were greeted by a bored-looking redhead hostess in a black uniform, who bowed slightly, "Good evening, Sir and Madam, and welcome to the Chez'Laguna-"

'_Wait a minute- why would they rename the place now and not back when he was in action? While sure, maybe he HAS reentered the public eye only relatively recently, but you would think at that point it would only be a quick cash-in for recently uncovered fe- I answered my own question. Dad- as much as I still cringe when I call you that, you still deserve better than-'_

"Thank you!" Rinoa told the hostess (whose name is Barbara if anyone actually cares) with a smile as the redhead then beckoned them to follow her. The Sorceress shook her Knight's shoulder, snapping him out of his gaze, "Come on, sweetie! I know you like thinking to yourself a lot, but it's rude when you do that to people talking to you."

Squall just nodded in understanding, "Right…" He offered Rinoa his hand and led her to the table the hostess gestured them towards their table. The table the Lion picked was the very same one his father and his friends always sat back during the Sorceress War.

Eventually, after the couple had time to look browse the menus, Barbara came back with a pen in hand, asking robotically, "What do you intend to order, sir and madam."

'_No fake-happy tone- must be new.'_ "I'll have the Galbadian Sirloin."

"How much?"

"The whole thing." Rinoa answered for her, "He tends to starve himself sick at work sometimes…" She winked playfully at her boyfriend, "They don't call you "The Lion Commander" for nothing."

Squall shrugged it off attempting to waive off the nickname, "That's just because of my last name… and my battle style… and- all right, I see your point." The SeeD Commander admitted grudgingly.

"And you, madam?"

"I'll have the Chicken Fillet with a side of Cesar Salad-"

"Funny, you don't look like a salad." Squall quietly quipped, causing Rinoa to stick her tongue at him.

"Very well, I'll be back with your order later then." She started to walk away before Squall asked:

"You wouldn't happen to be related to anyone named "Fujin, would you?"

"She's my cousin- why?"

"….No reason." As Barbara walked away, Rinoa couldn't help but giggle at the similarities in the robotic tones she and her cousin shared.

The night went by fast, the two got to really talk to each other more comfortably with no one they knew around to tease them for it…

…Though a familiar man with shoulder-length dark hair was listening intently from the booth behind them with a smile on his face; it seemed he got lucky for once…

Anyway, once the meal was over but before they had to sign the check, Squall felt for the small box in his pocket to ensure it was still there, _'Here it goes…'_ He looked at his beloved's face as she pointed out some of the people she had been friends with in her youth, _"_Rinoa Heartily…"

"Mm?" Said Sorceress turned around to see the Lion bow down to one knee, "Squall…?"

Suddenly, it felt like time had stood still for a second as they fully met eyes… then, Squall got out the box and revealed its contents, "I know you know I'm not much for words… but I'll try my best- at first, you were just this irritating pain in the ass I couldn't care less if it lived or died. I can't say I know when that changed... but somehow, through your stubborn persistence, you wormed your way into my heart, and when you were into that coma… that made me realize just how important you became to me."

Rinoa smiled, "Squall…"

""Then during that heart-to-hear-"

"Just propose to me already!" The Sorceress teased a giant grin on her face already.

Squall rolled his eyes, _'So much for dramatic build-up…'_ He opened the box to reveal a ring with the gem resembling the Griever Symbol and of the same color as the FF8 title, "Will you marry me?"

Rinoa squeed at the words, "Yes! Yes! Yes! YES!" She cheered, putting the ring on her finger and hugging her Lion, "I've been waiting for you to say that YEARS now!"

Squall finally smiled at this, "I know… you know those plans-"

A growl came from Rinoa's stomach that interrupted the moment and made her face flush, "…."

"…"

"…Is it okay if I-"

"Go ahead."

"Thank you!" Rinoa then headed for the lady's restrooms while Squall went back to his seat, feeling accomplished even if it did end awkwardly.

"Way to go, lover boy!" Laguna got up from his booth and gave his boy a crushing bear-hug followed by a noogie that made the Lion cringe in annoyance.

Squall slipped out of the Ex-President's grasp easily, pushing him off, "Dad, what are you doing here?" he asked with an accusing tone.

Laguna held his hands up defensively, "Now now- I know what you're thinking and no, I didn't follow you here…I'm just came here for the memories is all."

Were this anyone else, Squall would have given them more questioning, but he knew his dad well enough to know that he isn't the type to lie, "Right then…"

A few more moments of silence passed between father and son as Squall kept thinking of ways to get out of this and Laguna tried to think of a subject for them to talk about. Eventually, the older man finally asked, "So, how's life as a Commander treating you?"

The SeeD shrugged, 'Pretty well, all things considered… one of the main things we're going now is returning monster population levels down after Ultimecia's Lunar Cry attack."

Laguna winced, "Yeah, I remember that- I was the President of the place that played victim. Couldn't finally leave office until that was settled."

"Are they alright without you?"

"Don't worry, I made sure Esthar would be able to survive without me-"

Suddenly, a loud, feminine scream pierced the air:

"_AAAAHHHHHH!"_

"That was Rinoa!" Squall bolted from his seat and towards the restrooms, his father close behind him. But before they could get there, an unexpected obstacle came in for the window…

"_**BARTZ!"**_

With that cry, a giant red-garbed man jumped out of nowhere and got into a fighting stance right in the middle of their path, **"Finally!** I meet you again at last! Now we can- wait…." Gilgamesh suddenly had a look of confusion on his face, "Something is not right here…"

The Lion got out his Gunblade and pointed it towards him, glaring at Gilgamesh in fury, "**Get out of our way!"**

"Squall- calm dow-! "

"**Don't tell me to calm do-!"**

The Red-Hooded Man snapped his fingers, "_Now_ I remember!" He gave the SeeD Commander a strong pat on the back, "You're that fine soldier I had aided before- Squall, correct?"

Squall looked confused until his eyes widened in recognition. He facepalmed, "Not you again…"

"Can you please move? There's someone we have to rescue-"

"Say no more!" Gilgamesh jumped over them and ran off, leaving the father and son to rush into the restroom…

…But it was too late- on of the stalls was busted and the room held signs of a struggle.

Rinoa was gone.

Squall gnashed his teeth in anger, "Damnit… just damnit…"

Laguna took a look around and saw a note attached to a mirror. He picked it and read aloud, "dEaR sQuAlL, iF YoU wAnT tO sEe YoUr LoVe AgAiN, sEt FlIgHt To ThEsE cOoRdInAtEs… SiGnEd: EnigMa."

Squall nodded in understanding, and motioned for them to leave, _'Rinoa… I won't stop until I find you again, and when I do, I'm going to make that bastard pay…'_

* * *

"Take this- Grand Lethal!"

"Two can play that game!"

Blades had been clashing for over an hour now as the Thief and the Mime were engaged in an intense sparring match! Zidane rushed into the Mime spinning at him in midair; violent pink energy surrounding him. Bartz attempted to mimic this and did the same motion, but failed since he couldn't use whatever energy was supporting his new (old) friend's move and thus got a stomach-full of pain knocking him against the wall.

Bartz slowly picked himself up, grunting out, "Dang…"

Zidane rushed over to him, offering a hand; which the Mime accepted instantly, "Thanks..."

"No problem!" Zidane chirped. He thought of adding 'Zidane:3, Bartz: zilch', but it wasn't appropriate seeing as this wasn't just a _normal_ sparring match. But the ex-Thief did ask, "Have you found what you're looking for, yet?"

Bartz had been unusually pensive since he and Faris met with Zidane and crew yesterday. So did Zidane, given, but not to this extent.

The Mime shook his head, trying to concentrate, "It still isn't ringing a bell… it's like I SHOULD be able to mimic your attacks like that, but there's something missing…"

"Hrm…" Zidane put a hand to his chin in thought, eyes closed. After a minute passed though, he just shrugged and got back into battle stance, "Maybe another round will help- you up for it?"

Bartz flipped back up, picking up the Brave Blade once more, "I am, are you?"

"Hey- you're the one that lost!"

"Not once I get a figure my secret technique out!"

The two clashed blades again, the Mime taking a swipe only for the Ex-Thief to jump above him and threw his daggers down at him, diving down and using then to strike at him many times. Bartz barely blocked the attack and responded with a Fira Spellblade slash that made Zidane back off to avoid the flames.

The trouble-making twosome in World B had hit it off as well as you would expect: amazingly. However, just recently Bartz had an idea he couldn't quite place: one involving combining the attacks of… allies? Well, he assumed it was of allies, but he couldn't remember what it entailed. When he approached Zidane with the idea, the soon-to-be King suggested this duel and so we have the following.

Garnet and Faris were watching their duel from the doorway; the pirate captain analyzing the scene with a close eye while the queen seemed lost in thought.

'_Well, this proves that man was correct... Yet what does he intend to do? He claims he doesn't intend to hurt anyone, yet there's something unsettling about him. He could either be a powerful ally, or a fearsome foe… or neither.'_

Faris, meanwhile, had an idea cross her mind, _'I'm not sure what that idiot is trying to do, but if that works… I might be able to do something similar.'_

"Pardon me…" the Pirate turned to the side and found Garnet's gaze on her now.

Faris crossed her arms, "Yes, your _highness?"_

The Queen was about to voice her original question, but felt a small grin form on her face as she countered, "If what Bartz told me is true, I could use that same tone: _Queen of Tycoon."_

'_Bartz, you twit…'_ The Pirate rolled her eyes, "Touché- What do you want to know?"

"Um…" Garnet twiddled her fingers a bit, looking away when she asked, "Are you and Bartz an item?"

If Faris was drinking something, she would have spit it out. Instead, she did a doubletake, "Excuse me?"

"Are you and Bartz a couple?"

"HELL no," Faris answered sharply, "He's a close friend at best; at worst he's a freeloading pain in the arse."

The Summoner was taken aback by the harshness in the pirate's tone, "That's awfully harsh…" She turned to look at the two Cosmos Warriors that were still engaged in their sparring match, "You realize that would really hurt Bartz to hear you say that, right?"

Faris also turned back and answered, "I've said similar things to his face- that's just how our friendship works: I spew crap at him and he takes it."

"That's kind of twisted…" She turned back to the pirate, who went silent at this. Garnet slowly waved her hands in front of her face only to still get no answer, "That's odd… unless-"

"Did I use Stop?" The Summoner turned around and saw the neighborhood friendly (or not) Hooded Man right behind her, "Indeed I did."

Garnet backed away, but this only made the man grab onto her and warp here away in a small flash.

Sadly, Zidane and Bartz hadn't been all that aware of their audience in the first place and Faris wasn't going to move anytime soon, so she was at the cloaked man's mercy…

* * *

When the flash faded from Garnet's eyes, she found herself back in her personal chambers. Knowing the Hooded Man would be behind, she got out her Air Racket and spun around…

…only to hit nothing as the mystery man wasn't there in the first place.

"Over here!" Garnet turned towards her bed to find the Hooded Man standing in front of it. She could tell he had a big grin on his face as he beckoned her to come closer, "~I got a new friend for you~" he whispered in sing-song tone.

The young queen was apprehensive; knowing that something was hidden since the bed's curtains were obscuring whatever was inside. Yet there was no hostility in his tone, so she came up and pulled the cloth back….

…And revealed a sleeping woman in a blue duster sweater.

Maybe it was from having spent so much time around her fiancé, but her first thought was literally, _'He actually got lucky?!'_

The cloaked figure saw Garnet gape at him with an accusing look in her eyes, "Relax… I didn't do anything with her- just dropped her off." He explained, noting his soon-to-be former captive was stirring slightly, "She'll be up in a few minutes- she won't remember how she got here, so leave the room and come back- make sure to look surprised."

The Summoner narrowed her eyes, asking in a quiet yet demanding tone, "What are you doing with her? Why is she here?"

Once again, Garnet could feel certain the man was smiling at her, "Do you remember those 'friends' of Zidane's I mentioned?" He pointed to the window where you could see the courtyard from above, "Bartz was one of them- she's here to lure the other."

The young queen was still wary of the man, but she knew he wasn't lying to her, "Is that why you gave me that offer? To act the part of the unknowing maiden that guides whatever plot you have in mind together?"

The man gave her two thumbs up, "Right on the money!" Upon seeing the frown on her face, he chose to assure her, "Don't worry yourself- this will be the last time you hear from me until it's all over. It's not like I'm asking you to hurt people…"

At this, Garnet fully showed the air of authority of the Queen of Alexandria to the Hooded Man, who almost cringed at the look she gave him, "But how do I know you won't? If you went as far as kidnapping and, from what I've seen, drugging her, how I can be sure you're intentions aren't malicious from the moment you no longer need my help?"

He was dead silent at this, considering her words carefully. Despite having all the power of a Deity with his boss is backing him, he was not invincible. He could take on everyone here and live, but just barely… if he wasn't careful he could risk losing connections to the boss, _'I KNOW I'll still need this power if things go wrong and I have to deal with _her_… at least, if what the boss says is true.'_

"Well?"

"After the love of her life gets her, you're free to tell them and your friends everything… I promise if you do this, I'll leave- I know I don't look like the kindest person in the world with this coat, but since you agreed to help me, I'll make sure to fulfill both ends of the bargain." He explained, sounding sincere for once.

Garnet seemed to be thinking it over, so the Hooded Man decided to sweeten the deal, "How about this, then? If you DO screw everything up…" He pulled out a small metallic cylinder with a red button at the top, "I WILL blow this place sky high! Then you'll have a reason for lying to them!"

"WHAT?!" Garnet screamed, preparing to summon Bahamut or Ark to destroy the man, only for him to cast Silence on her to disrupt it.

The Hooded Man was clearly grinning from underneath his coat, held his hands up defensively, "Hey, it's not like I actually PLAN to use them… just thought it would give you more of an argument for making you lie to them."

The young queen grimaced, realizing it was on her head for agreeing to this.

"Actually…" The man thought, "I don't think you DID agree to this- I just showed up and offered it- now you don't have a choice anyway."

'_Oh yeah… I had forgotten that part…'_ At least the Hooded Man was honest, she supposed. Regardless, she now had to deal with the consequences of not refusing him outright and making sure this older woman was okay, "Very well, sir." She shook hands with the man, ""You have a deal."

"Good... now goodbye!" With that, the man vanished into thin air, off to his next visit.

Garnet shook her head, _'What a mess…'_ She looked back to her bed, watching as the other female groggily awakened.

The blue-garbed lady clutched her forehead in pain, moaning silently to herself, "My head…" After a few moments, she caught sight of Garnet and jumped in shock, "Who are you?! Are you the one that brought me here? Because let me tell you-"She brought forth her Shooting Star Blaster Edge, took off the Odine ring, and prepared to unleash her true power, "You never mess with a Sorceress!"

Garnet shook her head, calmly moving blue-garbed woman's weapon down towards the floor and away from the Summoner, "I'm not the one who brought you here...but I know who did."

The Sorceress calmed down at her words, finding herself trusting the young queen by words alone, "Really? Would you mind telling me? Me and Squall will have a field day with paying him/her back for this."

Garnet smiled, knowing that the Hooded Man would not be able to touch her for this, and led her out of the room and towards the courtyard. Before they really left the room, however, the Summoner asked, "What is your name?"

"Rinoa." Rinoa offered her hand, which the young queen respectfully shook.

* * *

After the kids had finished with breakfast (and then cleaning the dishes upon the former Half-Esper using that as last resort to avoid the following), Terra and Celes discussed this new development at the kitchen table. Locke was outside helping with the kids on chores- the two former Magitek Knights left to themselves until they'd be ready to join them.

Celes stirred her tea with a spoon (intending to wait until it was cool: she liked hers that way), looking her friend down on the other side of the table, "So… when did you first feel it?"

"….Yesterday in the early morning…" Terra muttered, suddenly very interested in her heels. She liked catching up with her friends and the good times they had, but magic… brought memories she didn't like thinking about. Like sadistic clowns that did… horrible things to her in the woman's youth, a power that burned against the back of her mind like a migraine… She took a sip of her tea (she liked it hot for obvious reasons).

…And if you're wondering why they're having tea, it's because I felt it dramatically appropriate (and because Cid Highwind would have my head on a pike if I didn't include the beverage somewhere).

The Ex-General could see where she was coming from, but pressed on, "And the mist?"

"That came about later that day- one of the kids noticed it." The Esperkin explained, still trying to avoid her gaze and took another sip.

"Could you tell us anything else?"

Terra went silent at this, but a certain gleam in her eyes (something the Runic Knight had learned through the interrogations she did during her days in the Gestahlian Empire) told Celes she was on to something, "Terra?"

The Half-Esper DID look up this time, telling the ex-general resolutely, "No."

"Terra-"

"I said NO!" Terra yelled, feeling that other half of herself reach out to try to touch that source, "I won't have anything to do with bringing magic back!"

Celes's eyes widened, "You know where it is…" It made sense now: THAT'S why the Esperkin was being evasive earlier- she didn't want the location to be known.

Terra tried to glare at the Ice-aligned former Magitek Knight, attempting to seem angry but coming off as more afraid than anything. But her half-hearted try at a glare could do nothing in the face of her friend's famous 'ice stare'. She backed down pretty fast, unable to keep that up against Celes.

"I… I'm sorry… for snapping at you like that…" The formerly Half-Esper apologized, lavender-blue purple eyes full of regret for her behavior as Celes moved her chair to next to Terra, "It's just… it's like there's this 'pull'-" She made a pulling gesture to exemplify, "Trying to drag me towards it and it… kind of frightens me just how much magic is embedded inside of me… like I shouldn't be able to keep existing without it but do anyway."

"Which kind of makes sense in a really dark sort of way." The ex-General quipped dryly while her friend took a large sip, "No offense…"

"None taken…" The Esperkin nodded, knowing she didn't mean it that way, "But that has me on edge; so when you started questioning me about it… the pull reacted towards it and made me a bit cranky."

"Sorry about that…" Celes closed her eyes in thought, "What should we do about it though? Someone else WILL find once the town starts rebuilding."

Terra looked down in indecision, "I don't know… I'm really conflicted about that." She explained, "One part of me is all for it and… well-"

"Don't beat around the bush, Terra; just tell me what the real problem is."

The pale-blonde finished off her tea while it was still warm before finally answering, "I don't want to _deal_ with my powers again. I've never told you what's like… they were like this burning beast crawling in the back of my mind; hoping to manifest as an Esper gone berserk…" She paused, and looked at Celes directly, "It's like what you saw the first time at Narshe."

The other blonde winced, remembering having nearly been pushed down the cliff by the sheer force, "Oh my…" She shook her head, "But I thought after you were 'reunited' with your father-"

"-My father helped me keep the 'Esper form' part locked up so I could use it in those short bursts- Sorry." She apologized for her rude interruption, before continuing, "It's a little hard to remember those parts because of all the power rushing through me that needed release- but the presence was still there… it hurt a little in both good and bad ways." The Half-Esper reflected, "But if this magic really was unleashed…"

"No father = No control." Celes finished for her, nodding in understanding of her friend's plight, "I see now…" The ex-General addressed her fellow former Magitek Knight personally, "I'm sorry I asked."

Terra shook her head, "Don't be: I was the one that overreacted; I'm the one who should be apologizing to you."

There were still questions that would need to be answered, but the two young women shared a small smile and after Celes finished her now-cool tea, they both went outside to help Locke and kids…

At that same time however, a certain Hooded Man was about to arrive from one of his portals...

"_~And so a new tale- begins! A tale of wonder, a new fantasy, descends! ~"_ The mysterious traveler sang to himself as he showed up at the edge of the Mobliz plains, fully expecting to find this land full of that magical aura once more…

…only to fall to his knees as soon as he sensed this land's Aura. It was almost comical how quickly his positive mood deflated at a mere change of scenery than he had made himself preemptively used to.

He felt a bit winded, clutching his forehead in pain, "What the hell…?" The enigma stood back up, shaking his head, "This isn't right… why didn't Miss Branford unlock that Hidden Magic? Why would she forsake the power to protect her little family? Stupid, stupid…"

He looked up towards the Mist Barrier in the distance, "This screws everything up… the Onion Knight and the Not-SOLDIER will be here by tomorrow evening. Something must be done…"

"He-HEY! Timmy, come back here!"

The Hooded Man turned around and hid himself with Vanish spell from his ill-gotten Master Materia; watching a light-brown haired young boy wearing a white shirt, red overalls, and a hat of the same color start to walk into the forest alone only for Locke to come and halt him, "You can't go out there on your own, little man."

The Treasure Hunter picked him up and onto his shoulders (he wasn't Sabin, but he was still among the more physically powerful members of the Returners), keeping Timmy from running around (much to the child's chagrin). The boy crossed his arms indignantly, protesting this development, "No fair, Uncle Locke! You, Aunt Celes, and Mama Terra get to go out all the time- especially you! "

Locke into the distance and into the mist, "Tim, let me tell you something I'd only learned a few years ago… besides not being as safe, it also isn't as fun traveling alone…"

This caught the boy's attention, "Really? But don't you go on adventures all the time?"

"And I still do…" the Thi-Treasure Hunter shook his head, "but I realized this after the world ended: traveling alone… can be really empty at times without someone you care for at your side."

"You mean Aunt Celes?"

The Adventurer grinned, "I guess that was a bit too obvious, wasn't it?"

The cloaked figure watched them walk away, pondering Locke's words, "That couldn't be more true…" He took out a red-orange star-shaped charm from his pocket, remembering the cherished friend who had given these among the four of them, "At least one of you is here with me… once this is all over, we'll finally catch a break- maybe even come here for a vacation."

Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity from looking at Terra and at least a couple of the other warriors… as if he's met them before.

Regardless, he knew what he had to do now, even if it would be a _really_ dick move.

And this is coming from the same man that kidnapped someone only to set them free immediately afterwards without a way to get home.

* * *

As the airship flew towards Crescent with Walz at the helm (a surprisingly good pilot), Gill noticed the Warrior standing to the side of the deck, looking out to the skies in contemplation.

'_Perfect…'_ the Red Mage thought to herself as she walked over, "A gil for your thoughts?"

The Warrior didn't turn his head to her away, but nodded. As she came next to him, he started, "I know you want to know why I got so worked up earlier."

Gill blinked, but smiled from underneath her cowl, "No beating around the bush? Good; so why is it you nearly killed our friend Sauber?" She asked in a cold tone that contrasted her expression.

The Warrior went silent at this.

"Well?" the Red Mage crossed her arms.

The Armored Hero sighed, "…Do you remember the story I had told you all yesterday?"

"Yes…" She raised an apprehensive eyebrow, "I take it there's more to it than that?"

"It's literally my past- I've lived through it…" He confessed, "I don't recall anything beyond that 13th Cycle, but Garland's mysterious reappearance likely confirms this."

"And if he has returned…" Gill began quietly, looking below in thought.

"…So too could a far stronger and more dangerous Chaos than that who ruined this land prior the destruction of this cycle." The Warrior finished, making sure he was battle ready afterwards. He had his sword: the Excalibur, his trusty shield, and his helmet on him as well as a pouch of potions and elemental Fangs for magic.

The Red Mage too ensured her preparedness, making sure she had her rapier, gauntlets, and supplies ready as well.

Meanwhile, the Monk had already ensured he had what he needed: his pouch of his own supplies: he didn't need anything else! He was more concerned with reaching their destination as quick as possible. Yet he heard what they were saying and slowly sped up.

It was them he saw something that made his skin pale, "Guys…"

The other Warriors of Light turned around and saw him pointing…

…Towards a tower of smoke now only a few minutes away.

THE Warrior of Light quickly took charge, "Walz, get us parked as close as possible; better yet, get as close to the town as you can and we'll drop off!"

"Are you crazy?!" the Monk cried out incredulously, "Your legs would be shattered!"

Gill rolled her eyes, "I have ways around that; just do it!"

Walz shook his head, but did as told. Soon, they were right above the town; and in what used to be the grotto of the Circle of Sages was now eleven dead, white-bearded old men in red robes and their leader, the famous blue-robed sage Lukahn, in the clutches of none other than the Fell Knight himself…

Garland grinned challengingly beneath his horned helmet as the Warrior and the Mage dropped down in front of him; Gill using her newly learned Float spell to prevent injury. When they landed they drew their blades and faced the man on.

"So we meet again… Warriors of Light…"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town; away from the flames…

"Ugh…" A very familiar pink-haired woman groggily stirred from her slumber, clutching her forehead in pain. She felt hung over and numb, but both soon started to fade as she took notice of her surroundings. The pinkette had been lying next to a tree at what appeared to be the edge of a forest and soon saw she was not alone.

Out a couple trees back she saw an unconscious young man with blonde hair so light it almost seemed white and tanned skin. He wore a loosely cropped white and black vest over a large-collared white shirt, black pants, and armored boots. Next to him was a girl of about the same age with long blonde hair done in two plaits, wore a short white blouse under a red top (both of which showed her midriff), short but baggy blue pants with white tights, and gold shoes that curved at the ends. She also held a golden long staff with a crescent moon at the end.

The girl was placed on the boy's lap- indicating a relationship between the two.

"Hey!" The strawberry-blonde turned around and did a doubletake she turned to see a girl with pointy ears right in front of her, "'Bout time you woke up! If you haven't noticed: hell looks like it came over not too far from here and those people could use as much help as they could damn-well get!"

The pinkette groaned holding her head again, "Damnit, you don't have to be so loud…"

The pale violet-haired girl that was pestering her briefly wondered if she was drunk given her behavior, but didn't smell any liquor in her breathe and so decided not to comment on that. She stomped her feat irritably, tired of seeing the older woman struggle to her feet, "Damnit, GET UP!"

At this, the girl literally grabbed the pink-haired woman, held her above, and shook her around; getting several curses from the strawberry-blonde who shook herself free, "I'M UP, I'M UP! LET GO ME!" After falling back to the ground, she got up to her feet and glared daggers at the triumphant pointy-eared girl in front of her, "What was that for?!"

To answer the woman, the girl pointed up to the smoke-filled skies that the pinkette now finally noticed, "That answer enough for you?!"

"Will you both shut up…" the two girls turned around and saw the other pair stir from their slumber, the only male speaking, "It's not nice waking up to that kind of talk…"

The elf-like girl rolled her eyes, "Geez, sorry! I just thought you'd like to know that hell was breaking loose…" Once she saw everyone up, she chose to formally introduce herself, "Sorry for the rude awakening, but we've got trouble on our hands! The name's Prishe!" She offered her hand to shake, "What are yours?"

Now that they were finished waking up, the two blondes seemed much livelier and sociable than the strawberry-one before them. The boy came up first striking a pose, "My name's Vaan: Sky Pirate extraordinaire!"

His companion shook her head good-naturedly at his antics and did a quick bow before shaking the Prishe's hand after Vaan did the same, "My name is Penelo- nice to meet you!"

Prishe smiled, "You too!" she turned back to the pinkette, who seemed more shocked by what she was wearing than in what the other three were saying.

She felt around herself one more time, making sure she wasn't dreaming about any of this, _'Okay, there's a brat of an elf shouting at me, two other strangers- one of which seems really familiar, and somehow I've returned to my old outfit once more… wait, if I'm gone, what's going to happen to-'_

"_Hello!"_ Prishe called out in a sing-song tone, waving her hand in front of the strawberry blonde, "Vana'diel to Pinky! What's your name?"

At this point, 'Pinky' had had enough of the Elvaan White Monk and started walking away, "Save it- let's just get this over with…"

Prishe stuck her tongue at her before easily running back up to her with the Sky Pirates following. The girl got up in front of her and cut her off, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

The pinkette sidestepped her and walked on, "Away from you people- I'm not wasting time here!"

With a shrug, Prishe reluctantly dropped the subject in favor of getting to the town the smoke was no-doubt coming from.

Penelo turned to Vaan, "Do you think we should keep following them? It doesn't look like that pink-haired woman wants to be with us…

But the young man had other ideas as he realized, "Weren't we in an airship before we woke up here?"

The Dancer narrowed her eyes, making Vaan drop that subject, "Let's try that again: _should we follow them."_

The Sky Pirate gulped, "Yes- let's do that…" The poor bastard was whipped.

Penelo smiled, "Then what are we waiting for?"

The two shared a nod and started racing off towards Prishe and the mean woman, soon catching up with them as they entered the village…

…Not knowing that a certain white metallic owl was watching over them, eyes zooming in on them. Elsewhere, Barthandelus smiled; looking forward to the struggle that was to come.

"Lightning Farron…" He mused to himself, pacing around the copy of the Narthex's Throne in Orphan's Cradle, "It would seem your path shall once again be planned by me in the shadows. I do hope you will perform better than last time…"

With a dry chuckle, the Fal'Cie faded away seamlessly; intending to greet his fated nemesis and friends personally…

* * *

**Are things finally heating up? Looks like it. As for who Maple and Syrup from last chapter are from, they're from The Legend of Zelda. They aren't witches here and Maple hasn't shown her sass yet, but I thought someone would make that connection... ah well, there'll be plenty more opportunities to win a cookie.**

**Be sure to review! Criticism is appreciated so long as it is constructive.**


	10. Conflict's Beginning

**Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War**

**Chapter 10: Conflict's Beginning**

* * *

**Author's Note:**** 6/3/13:**** Here it is: the long-awaited tenth chapter! This took a while to write- mostly because school kept me really busy, but also due to the fact that the day after it was finally over I had to get my wisdom teeth taken out... that wasn't fun, but it was planned for then so as to not take any time away from my summer. I had a bit of a learning curve with action scenes as well as working with some characters, but that's all behind me, now! It looks like I've gotten a few more favorites and followers since last chapter- best not disappoint, then! **

**Word of warning: this puppy's a long one!**

**Without any further to do: Enjoy!**

* * *

_Well, well, well… look what we have here- a flashback from your favorite neighborhood friendly Hooded Man: EnigMa!_

…_All right, not even I believe it's really THAT big a deal- I just thought you readers may enjoy seeing things from a possible bad guy's point of view… I'll leave whether you think I'm a bad guy up to you- in my eyes, I'm just a man doing his job… even if some people do get hurt- I haven't killed anyone, have I? I thought so._

_This was a day or two ago- I'm not sure. Time doesn't exactly flow normally between worlds right now. Apparently it has to do with the magic of Miss Branford's world being absent… I'll need to take care of that soon in the present. Back on track: this was in Firion's zone._

_If you remember from last time, I had given Firion some ex-lax chocolates for the laughs… I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not usually a prankster most of the time. It's just… have you ever had so much power that you didn't know what to do with it? That's why I've been tormenting some of these people- ESPECIALLY Firion… I don't hate him, but I for some reason there's something I don't like about him either… that, and he's really fun to pick on._

_I'm getting off-track, aren't I? Sorry about that._

_As Maria and Guy stood near the outhouse waiting for Firion, I decided to approach them… they weren't happy with me, needless to say._

_Maria narrowed her eyes at the sight of me, "You." She took out her bow and aimed it right at my heart while Guy armed himself with his axe. "What did you put in those chocolates?"_

_I can't say I was all that phased by their threats, so I waved the question off, "Nothing lethal, don't worry- he'll be fine come tomorrow. He'll just need to eat and drink more after this." I paused, taking in their now lowering glares, "More importantly, I'd like to ask you about a job offer…"_

"_You don't join." Guy responded… I didn't expect any of them to come to that conclusion, but wasn't important._

_I laughed at what he suggested, pointing at them, "Are you KIDDING? I wouldn't join your little team if you paid me…" I scratched my chin at this thought: "I'm already not being 'paid' to do to do this shit, granted, but still." I shook my head, explaining, "I come as a hired ambassador from the Kingdom of Baron to extend an olive branch to the Kingdom of Fynn."_

"_Really, now?" I heard Firion moan painfully from the crap-shack… I didn't think he'd be able to hear us- the guy was made of tougher stuff than I thought. His tone, ignoring the pain in it, was incredulous and rightfully so- I kind of did a lot of lying and trickery to make this not a lie… sort of._

"_Mm-hm; recognized by Queen Hilda herself." That was true… given, I lied about being an ambassador to her, but that was beside the point. I pulled out the treaty document she handed me with her signature to prove it. After seeing Guy recognizes the handwriting (can't say I expected the muscle-man of the group to be so perceptive), I continued, "Head east of here past the mountains and you'll find it…it's a big place- hard to miss."_

_Maria seemed to trust me now and gave me a smile that almost made me feel guilty for the lies I was using for this… almost- everything should be dandy once Firion and Cecil (and if I can get anyone I'm still missing) meet up again, "Thank you… and I apologize for doubting your sincerity- I can't say I enjoyed you tricking my brother, though." She added in mild distaste._

_Though she couldn't see it, I smiled, "No problems… give Firion my apologies and I'll on my way." I could have sworn they all thought "Thank god" at that, but I couldn't fault them for that. Firion I'd imagine was still peeved and Maria and Guy still weren't 'happy' with me either, so the sooner this was over, the better it would be for all of us._

_After she told me she would, I calmly walked away from the scene before breaking into a full-blown run once I was certain they couldn't see me; I didn't want them to see me open a portal and I hadn't figured out simpler teleportation yet. Once I left, it was time for me to pay the Gullwings a visit…_

_Or, rather, I was._

_I sensed something nearby… and ran like hell when I recognized what it was, "Oh fu-"_

_Right on time a mass of black space began to consume a mile-long and wide stretch of land. Time seemed to have stopped all the while…_

_Then, as quickly as it came, it vanished… but it took that chunk of earth with it- likely gone to the Rift… it is as if that space never existed._

_The boss told me about this: because the worlds composing this one aren't stabilized yet, bits and pieces of space were being consumed by the Void. No one would even notice- not even Warriors of Cosmos or Chaos (well, except that tree-guy and the hot-cloud woman). _

_So far, it isn't very frequent and the spaces aren't horribly populated, but until the boundaries still separating the worlds have dissolved fully it would continue…_

…_Which is why I need to get that one job done: No world, no shoes, no service._

* * *

The Warrior charged at Garland with Excalibur and shield in hand; Gill charging him with Protect, Shell, Temper, and Haste spells to boost his chances. Garland prepared to swing his gigantic blade to break through his guard with ease, but the Warrior flipped over him and tried to slice at his helmet. Garland ducked under his slice and turned his sword into a whip-form, trying to strike him from behind, but the Warrior blocked with his shield. It sent him back to the ground, but he landed gracefully and clashed swords with Garland, who then turned his blade into two smaller ones.

Garland turned his sword back into its default shape to block a shield toss by the Warrior, but was momentarily caught off guard when it was aimed upwards and allowed the Warrior to strike him with three upwards slashes to send him into the air. Garland grunted, but used his position to swing his sword and slam the Warrior back with a strong bolt of lightning when his nemesis tried to continue his assault.

The Warrior grunted as he fell to the ground, but Garland chose not to strike him while he was down (following a part of his twisted code of honor). Instead, he remarked: "I've been waiting for the chance to fight you once more, my fated rival, in a setting beyond an endless chain of conflict."

The Warrior got back up- feeling surprisingly more active and warmed up after this first part of the battle, glaring at Garland, "So… you do remember that world now."

Garland laughed, leering at the younger knight behind his helmet, "More like the version of myself you're facing now is the present most Garland that has experienced everything you remember me for."

The Warrior shook his head, muttering, "Time Travel…"

"Time Travel…" Garland raised his sword once more, "That was merely the warm-up- can you stand THIS!" He closed the distance between them with a spinning attack of his greatsword that the Warrior flipped over. Garland chained his attack by turning his sword into an axe and smashing the ground- which his opponent only barely blocked by infusing his shield with Light energy. It still knocked the Warrior into the air, but the shield stunned Garland downwards just long enough to keep him from taking advantage of the opening. The Warrior landed on his feet and crossed blades with Garland once more. "Are you prepared for more endless war?"

The Warrior shook his head, "Not at all… I'll simply fight to end it!"

Garland let out a chuckle, "Try it- if you can! Already this town is burning to cinders- even if your comrades come to aid in rescuing civilians, they'll still have to face my own!"

Gill attempted to join in the fight, casting a Blizzaga ice storm at the Fell Knight's exposed backside… only for it to be dispelled by a ball of fire that created a huge explosion on contact. The result mist obscured her view, but the Red Mage wasn't concerned about THAT.

She drew her rapier and held it above her head in a two-handed stance, closing her eyes, _'If this is who I think it is…'_ After a few moments, Gill opened her eyes and swung her sword to the right…

…Blocking the cursed staff of the Dark Elf King, Astos, "Hello, my dear… did your little Sauber like his present?" He asked- his voice a raspy medium-high and tone sickeningly sweet but sinister.

"I see you introduce yourself in the same fashion as always- using illusions to deceive." The Red Mage responded curtly, tone laced with hate towards the ex-monarch that implied something deeper that happened between them than had been seen so far.

The foul king was a gaunt-faced, lanky, scrawny-looking man with long, messy, pitch-white hair. While his teal gray skin was normal for his kind, his yellow irises and blood-red pupils was an abnormality that signified a much darker part of his character. He wore heavy black, regal looking robes, a silver crown with a blood-red jewel it the center, and wielded a thick heavy wooden black staff with what appeared to be a freshly obtained skull on the top… you could still see the blood staining it.

Astos sneered, "As tactful as always, Red Mage of Light." He wagged his finger, "I'll have you know that once I'm done here, I intend to give Sauber the rest of the gift I gave the rest of his kind…"

Gill eyes widened in horror from a second before narrowing fiercely, "I see he wasn't exaggerating…" She parried his staff, rolled around him, and gave him a slice on the back as he registered how quickly she moved.

Astos shrieked in pain before turning full glare back at the mage, "I see we've gotten faster…"

"And I see you're just as strong as before."

Astos slammed his staff- a ring of Thundaga bolts making Gill back off more. He grinned, "You'd be right- I _haven't_ gotten stronger… I merely have access to a_ll_ of my strength now compared to that feeble amount I had in the old timeline."

Gill charged forward once more, jabbing her rapier at his heart only for Astos to conjure a barrier of yellow magical energy at the spot-letting the Dark Elf King jump back and do a twirling motion with his staff. The twirl produced a circle of red magic and once it stopped spinning the skull on top suddenly opened its mouth and shot off a fierce jet of fire that Gill was only barely able to avoid with a flip to the right.

The spell, however, did hit a tree the forest behind them only a few yards away from the village- the magic flames quickly spreading to cause a full-out forest fire.

Gill gaped from behind her cowl at the damage this was causing, and turning to the Dark Elf with a venomous glare, "What spell was that?! It takes only _very_ strong Fire Magic to for spells to spread THAT quickly and severely!"

Astos grinned wickedly, giggled creepily, "Ah that was an Astos specialty: Arcfire! A spell that requires some blood to have been shed…" He wagged his finger at her, "That's why it's called _Blood_ Magic!"

Gill's froze at the words, moving only to avoid another Arcfire from Astos that hit a house. She narrowed her eyes, "Blood magic… Astos, you have truly overstepped the boundaries of Human, Elf, and even Dark Elf morality…"

The Dark Elf King cackled madly at her words, "Oh, I crossed that line a _long_ time ago. I lost my pretty Blood Magic when I was defeated in the Elven Civil War 200 years ago… do you want to hear the story?"

* * *

The pink-haired woman sped towards the town-trying to outrun Prishe so that she wouldn't be required to interact with the trio behind her. However, Prishe proved to be much faster than her when she needed and easily kept pace, "Are we going to work together or not?"

The pinkette scowled at the girl, "In all fairness- _no._ I have my own mission to complete and I no intentions of letting a bunch of kids tag along and slow me down."

The immortal Elvaan rolled her eyes, "Yeah… you do realize I'm keeping up with you-OUTRUNING you, pace to pace, right? That's a fucking terrible excuse!"

The pink-haired woman looked down behind them, "You can't say the same for those two- that's for sure."

Prishe took a glance behind them and had to agree with that- though Vaan and Penelo were keeping a steady pace behind them- they were still several meters behind them…

But the White Monk shrugged that off, "That's because we had a massive head start- I doubt they'd be trailing behind if you didn't bail on us so fast."

The pinkette went silent at this; Prishe was right… so she would have to admit the true reason she doesn't want to associate with them (they were both still running). "Look- as soon as this is over I'll desperately need to get somewhere I doubt any of you could ever help me get to… and once I do, I'll have to do it alone. So I repeat: I do not ask for _or want_ your damn help!"

Since the two had slowed down their pace during their little talk, Vaan and Penelo were able to catch up, "Hey, girls- don't we need to do some rescuing stuff?" he pointed to outskirts of Crescent- were survivors had taken shelter from the enemies' wrath. None of them seemed healthy and many looked like they would die soon if they didn't get any help, "You know… like over there?"

Penelo nodded, "Leave them to me-I'll take the healer role while you, Prishe, and the pink-haired woman help rescue the remaining villagers."

The other three (including the pink-haired woman- who seems to have chosen to go along with this for now) nodded in agreement. When they arrived, they saw a brawny man in a purple Gi bring in another survivor to the encampment. He noticed the quad's approach and waved them over, "Hey, you guys- are you here to help or hurt?"

"Help, of course!" Prishe answered for the group. She and Penelo quickly started casting healing spells on the injured. After healing a young woman and her child, the girl thanked the White Dancer graciously, "Thank so much, kind madam…" She coughed a little- still coughing up a little smoke from the fires, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here now and my child would be an orphan…"

"_..And she still will."_ A cold voice echoed out in the distance.

The pink-haired woman's eyes widened in shock, "It can't be…"

Suddenly, a barrage of magical energy blast bombarded the crew- the woman from moments before was struck down before Penelo's very eyes, "No…"

The pinkette looked at the skies in fury, _"Barthandelus! Show yourself!"_

A dry laugh was heard throughout the air, "Very well…" Suddenly, the Fal'Cie Primarch appeared right behind her- firing another Ruinga from his staff, "It's a wonder to see you again… Lightning Farron."

Lightning dodged the blast and spat in his direction, "The feeling is FAR from mutual."

Suddenly, Prishe leapt up at the seemingly-elderly man and attempted to dropkick him from the air, "Eat this, you crusty old bastard!"

Barthandelus simply bent out of the way at the last moment- making Prishe just spin in the air and leave her open to attack, lecturing with a wag of his finger, "You'll find surprise attacks will get you nowhere with me, child." He attempted to take advantage of the window to blast her out of the air…

…Only for her to be saved by the bell by a small storm of lightning bolts (Thundaga) cast by Lightning stunning him long enough for him to lose focus. Said ex-l'Cie turned to Prishe with a stern expression, "If you want me to hel-"

Prishe landed on her feet and succeeded in hitting Barthandelus with a Light-infused uppercut attack. He grunted when the White Monk followed with a charging punch flurry and a dropkick to send him crashing down. She landed next to Lightning and grinned, "'If you want me to help you anymore, you have to prove you can actually fight, right?" the Elvaan pointed at the slowly raising Fal'Cie in human guise, "I was just warming up before- the real fight begins now."

Lightning seemed almost impressed, "Guess we have a deal, then…" The two women got into fighting stance, "He's just warming up too- don't lower your guard."

Indeed, as the man rose up, it became apparent Prishe's melee didn't harm him as much as it looked- there wasn't even a scratch on him, "She's right, you know. I merely gave you simple test of reaction time…" Sensing something behind him, he didn't even turn around to grab Walz out of his attempted aerial attack and used him as a shield against the stream of bolts Vaan aimed at the Fal'Cie from his crossbow, "...And happened to lured you into a false sense of security…" He threw the monk at the Sky Pirate with a magical force- knocking the latter of his feet.

Vaan and Walz got back up and faced Barthandelus from his left-hand side while the girls faced his right. Lightning nodded, "This is more like the monster I faced three years ago…"

With a flash from his staff, more of the ex-Primarch's power was released and a golden aura surrounding him, "The destruction wrought in this hamlet is only the beginning of our much greater plan… I look forward to seeing you play your roles- starting here."

* * *

Luneth and Arc (in their Job Class outfits they wore outside of home) had now arrived at the small town near a small desert not too far from either Castle Sasune (their next target after this) or the duo's hometown of Ur.

Luneth and Arc stepped towards Takka the Black Smith's hut and could already hear he and his daughter, their close friend and fellow Youth of Light, Refia hard at work. Luneth knocked on the door…

…No answer. _'I guess they must not be able to hear me over pounding the metal into shape…'_ Luneth figured, shaking his head.

Arc knocked as well, only harder and more repeatedly.

…Still no answer. Arc stuck his tongue at the door, but frowned and turned away, "I guess we just need to wait, don't…" He turned towards his brother only to find him running until he was several feet away from the house, "What are you doing?"

Luneth answered with a smirk, "I got an idea…"

Arc didn't like that tone. While Arc could be rather absent-minded, Luneth had his moments of recklessness and impulsiveness at times when he was usually the opposite… and those moments tended to involve dangerous ideas.

It was too late to stop him though- Luneth launched a fireball into the air that blew up in midair- disturbing the townspeople until they saw who did it and just shook their heads in annoyance.

It certainly got Refia's attention, because as soon as she heard that she rushed to the door to see what happened… and groaned in irritation when she saw Luneth out there, "You know, you could have just came in- the door wasn't locked…"

Both Luneth AND Arc looked embarrassed at that, "Sorry…" Luneth muttered as he rushed on over- standing next to his adoptive brother at the doorstep.

Refia sighed, "Still…" She gave the two boys a hug, "It's good to see guys again."

Refia was the same age as Luneth and had silver hair and red eyes. Besides the different hair color and younger age, she wasn't that different from her DS/iOS counterpart… well, her vest is purple instead of blue, but that's about it.

After she let go, Luneth nodded vigorously, "You too… even if it HAS only been a week!"

Refia shrugged, oblivious to Luneth's reaction, "True… but I don't any friends here…" She took another look around and frowned a bit when she noticed someone wasn't there, "Where's Ingus…?"

"He isn't coming…" Arc answered, "We already went to see him- he's held up with Knight Duties…"

"Dark Knight Duties." Luneth mumbled- only to get a slap from Refia in return, "What?! He DOES use the Dark Knight Job class… it's a joke!"

"I know." Refia grinned a little… but that faded when she realized Ingus wasn't coming, "Just us, huh?"

Refia still seemed disappointed to Luneth's confusion but Arc knew why… Refia had more than a little crush on Ingus as their adventure moved on, though she kept it well hidden. While Luneth didn't notice this, Arc was mature enough in this regard to see it… that said it was also apparent Ingus didn't exactly feel the same towards her. It would seem that Princess Sara Altney had a liking for him as well- one which Ingus DID reciprocate.

Arc knew to keep those thoughts to himself, though. Refia seemed to then register the fact that they had offered something and asked, "So what's this 'chance' you mentioned?"

Arc got the map out and opened it up to show her. At the silverette's confusion, Luneth explained, "Some guy gave Luneth this strange map… it looks like there could be some places we've never been to before."

Refia continued to examine it until she'd seen everything she needed to. She gave the two boys a dull stare, "You realize this could just be a fake- right?"

"…"

"…"

At the silence, Refia shrugged, "But sure- I'll come along!"

"Boredom?" The two boys asked.

"Boredom."

"Sounds good enough to me!" Luneth said- sharing a high-five with Arc. He turned back to the only girl among the four Youths of Light, "I'm sure there's going to be something..."

As he said those last few words, he felt as though he lost some steam. He became lost in thought- eyes glazed over.

Seeing the de facto leader of the group suddenly lose steam worried the other two. "Luneth?" Refia asked- waving a hand in front of him to get his reaction.

That did the trick, "Eh?" He snapped out of it and smiled lightly, "It's alright… I just got this weird feeling…"

Arc looked at his adoptive brother with curiosity, "What kind of feeling?"

"A feeling like I'm about to meet people I thought I'd never see again… it's like if Aria suddenly came back to life- only I don't think the sources of this feeling were-are-I don't know…"

Arc and Refia shared a knowing look. It was common knowledge among the young heroes that Luneth had been head-over-heels with the shrine maiden in the time she had spent with them… anyway, they also wondered what he meant by that.

One thing was for sure- they knew not even Luneth had an answer…

* * *

_EnigMa here again! Got say- I really like the codename I've given myself… very fitting. Anyway, we have a Blitzballer and his Charlie's Angels to cover now, right? This isn't going to be directly from my perspective, but it will be a bit more general._

…_Honestly, I didn't really have to do anything here- kind of like how I didn't need to do anything to get Cloud and the others to Mobliz, so not quite the chore getting Prishe, Vaan (and Penelo… though only Vaan was my intention), and Lightning to Crescent-granted, the former two were FUN, but getting Lightning there required bypassing a really fucked up barrier twice… knocking Lightning out before she could see me was ALSO hard. _

_I can't say I liked Thunder Bitch- it's like she's constantly on her p- whoops! Almost went tasteless there… but yeah, she's so uptight and acts like she has a stick up her ass 24/7… given, I'd imagine she's a lot nicer when she isn't stressed, but from what I understand- that's a myth. Why was her world so hard to get to, anyway?_

_I went off on a tangent again, didn't I? This happened minutes after I left Firion and friends…_

_The Celsius was sailing smoothly on its way to Besaid to drop Tidus and Yuna off for some 'alone time'. Tidus himself and YRP were hanging out on the deck..._

…_The one completely exposed to the gale-force winds generated by the ship moving yet no one seems fall off- that one._

_Tidus walked around with abandon, "Even a year after joining the team, I'll still never get used to this…"_

"_I don't think _anyone_ would be able to get used to this- only somewhat used to this." Paine offhandedly commented, "In all fairness, it looks like we should be falling off and becoming bloody smear marks on the ground, but the hidden guard from that is trippy."_

_Tidus froze there- not sure what to think. He eventually settled, "Y'know, since joining the team I've only heard you speak more than a few words twice- and both times the content was kind of morbid…"_

_Yuna raised her hand to interject, "Actually, Tidus, that's only been around you…" She looked at her teammate, "Don't ask me why, though… that's something you only you can answer, Paine."_

_Said black-leather-clad woman shrugged in response- having no real reason for it. Rikku, however, wanted to keep things moving around, "Ssssssssssooooo… any news on that machina we recovered from Yadonoki Tower- that miniature of the one we got working?"_

"_Same as usual." Paine answered, "It looks like it's supposed to be a globe, but several pieces are missing."_

_Rikku's mood deflated, "Oh…" She looked around the bridge to the other two, "Anyone have ANYTHING they want to talk about? Because I can't think of anything the silence is driving me nuts…"_

_As if on cue, a large rumbling came from below- almost knocking the crew off-balance…, "What was that?" Yuna hesitantly asked._

_Answering her question, Brother's voice could be heard from an intercom, "Hey! Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Tidus: you better get yourselves down here quick! That machina you put in the bridge is going haywire!"_

_Rikku grinned widely, "FINALLY- something interesting!" She raced over to the elevator and went down by herself before the other three could catch up._

_With irritated sighs, Tidus, Yuna, and Paine had to wait for a minute before the elevator could come back up. Tidus kicked the door in frustration, "Does she always have to be so impatient?!"_

_Paine shook her head, "You're one to talk…" That earned a giggle from Yuna and a slight glare from Tidus… soon followed by him sheepishly scratching the back of his head when he sees her point._

_When they got downstairs, they saw Rikku and Brother (the only other person on the ship) peeking behind the couch in excitement (behind the couch in case the machina explodes). The thief beckoned them over silently as water began spiraling around the machina._

_Once everyone was gathered, they saw the machina beginning to somehow… repair itself. Before, the machine resembled a broken silver inverse triangle with a serpent-like figure that resembled Sin curled in a ring that cut off part of the top half. In the middle this ring was a (comparatively) small globe that missing large chunks._

_Now, however, the holes seemed to be filled up and it was glowing white and gold. The globe expanded and turned into a sphere of white fire that shot out a beam of light through the bridge and into the sky._

_The Gullwings looked at the sight in astonishment and (in Rikku and Yuna's case) wonder. The young Al Bhed jumped jump and down in the air in excitement, "Yes Yes YES!" She high-fived Yuna (and tried to do the same with Paine… didn't work), "I KNEW it was worth bringing onboard- I KNEW IT!"_

_Tidus whistled, crossing his hands behind his head, "Not a bad light show at all…" He turned to Rikku and Brother, "But what do you figure it's pointing to?"_

"_Eh?" Rikku turned around- calming down and turning towards the machina, "I'm not sure- let me check…" She found a button on the triangle that summoned a holographic menu to open up, "I'll have this cracked in no time- I'm used to digging these kinds of things up…"_

"_Rikku's 'business mode'…" Yuna commented, "She can be so bubbly most of the time, but when it comes to this kind of thing she's serious."_

"_Honestly, I didn't know she had a bubbly-mode when I first met her…" Tidus reflected, "THAT was what threw me into a loop…"_

"_Oh!" The former Summoner turned to Tidus with a grin on her face that screamed happiness and excitement, "This is going to be your first real adventure with us, isn't it? I'm excited already!"_

_Tidus grinned back with the same expression, "I know, right! IT's going to be fun going on another road trip…"_

_Paine rolled her eyes when the couple embraced for a kiss, "Love birds…" She walked up to Rikku and Brother, "Any luck, yet?"_

_Rikku had small frown on her face, "Well, it looks like this thing has a map… but it doesn't resemble ours in ways that leave me getting a weird vibe of this…"_

"_Weird how?"_

"_Weird in that it looks like Spira is just a large island in the midst of a much bigger one…" suddenly, a huge grin erupted on Rikku's face._

_Paine raised an eyebrow as she recognized that look on her face, "What has you so happy all of a sudden?"_

_The Al Bhed girl giggled, "Don't you see? If this map isn't just screwy then we have a WHOLE NEW WORLD of countless adventures and places to find!" She turned to her friend and teammate, "Aren't you excited?!"_

_Paine gave it some thought for a few moments, before nodding her head in agreement, "That could be interesting…"_

_Meanwhile I had had watched this all happen behind a Vanish spell- my jaw dropped to the floor. I didn't think I wouldn't have to intervene, but what really surprised me was HOW that happened. I don't think even the boss thought the machina could do the job… or maybe the boss just hadn't put that in place at the time- I didn't know what was (I still need to ask that)._

_After doing a brief check on my phone to make sure they were headed in the direction of Baron, I departed as quietly as I could… but in the brief flash of light signaling my exit I think that Paine chick noticed me… eh; she seems like the type to keep things to herself anyway…_

* * *

Unfortunately for Squall, the Ragnarok was being used for a Garden mission at the moment. Since that was the only real way to get there as fast as possible that Squall had available to him, it seemed as if it could take _weeks_ until he'd be able to rescue Rinoa…

Laguna threw his last card down, "Boo yah! This game is MINE!"

Squall's expression didn't change from its usual stoic, but he had to admit he was frustrated with his current losing streak. The SeeD Commander sighed and reluctantly allowed his father to take one of his Triple Triad cards, "At this rate, I'll be out of cards…"

The Gunner grinned, "Hey, you may have beaten the King, but you can't beat the GOD." He did his victory animation from Duodecim... or stood up and did a victorious fist pump.

"I DID beat you before when you were President of Esthar- remember?"

Laguna froze in mid-pose at that, "Oh… I forgot about that…" He relaxed and reclined on the chair he'd been sitting on before, "Eh, I was out of practice- I WAS in politics, son… didn't have any free time for things like that."

"Sir?" A flight attendant spoke up, "Your transportation has arrived."

"All right!" He got up again and gave the young man a pat on the back, "Thanks for getting ready on such short notice."

"No trouble at all, Former President Laguna." The Estharian replied with a salute before returning outside. Laguna prepared to follow with a wide, excited grin (like a child given a new toy) and gestured to Squall to follow.

The SeeD Commander followed and widened his eyes at the sight, "What… is this?"

Laguna threw his hand up in a celebratory manner, "Feast your eyes on the Ragnarok Mini!"

True to its name, the Mini Ragnarok was… a miniature Ragnarok. It didn't seem like it would be able to hold as many people as the full-sized Ragnarok, though. "This baby was a recent prototype for mass-produced Airship models back in Esthar, but while this one works, the country didn't exactly escape the Lunar Cry completely unscathed so those plans had to be scraped so more resources could be used in repairing the city." Laguna continued, "The good thing is that I was allowed to test it and this puppy can fit up six people at max so we'll be good."

Squall had to admit that it was impressive and nodded to express his approval, "Will it get us there fast?"

"Yep! Everything's already packed and ready to go!" Laguna hopped to his feet and enter the airship- stopping at the entrance to wave his son over, "Come on, kiddo! We're burning daylight here; we can get to that Alexandria place by tomorrow morning if we're fast enough!"

As the former president of Esthar got into his seat, Squall waited a few more moments to collect his thoughts. He looked at his lucky white feather (A remnant of Rinoa's first use of her Sorceress Power) with longing in his eyes, "Don't worry, Rin… I'm coming for you; and nothing in the world is going to stop me. Those bastards are going to pay…"

Putting the feather away, he went into the Ragnarok Mini- determined to reclaim the most important person in his life…

* * *

As night came to Alexandria, Garnet, Zidane, Steiner, Beatrix, Vivi Jr., Vava, Vahan, Vini, Quina, Bartz, and Faris were all gathered at the grand dining table ready to eat.

Faris looked at Bartz with some concern… she doubted Bartz knew how to act and eat 'properly' for events like this. He would be able to get away with it in Tycoon or Bal since the rulers there are close friends (Lenna also being her sister).

Here, though, they'd need to make a good first impression to avoid trouble… trouble Faris wasn't quite as confident in her ability to get out of after losing her crew.

Seeing as Bartz was eating messily next to her and getting disapproving looks from Steiner and Beatrix, she knew she'd have to step up to the plate before Steiner tried to teach him himself like he had with Zidane.

Faris shook her head, _'With Bartz, it's in one ear and out the other when it comes to this kind of thing… well, I'd think he'd know better than to not listen to me by now…'_ He smacked the back Bartz's head.

"Ow!" He turned to Faris with an annoyed look on his face, mouth full of food as he whispered, "Whash as dash far?"

She whispered back with a critical tone, "One: you can't talk with your mouth full here; two: it seems you have no idea what proper table manner are. We need to fix that."

Bartz swallowed and looked at her with a quizzical expression, "Since when did you care about things like that?"

"Since how well we do here may affect our chances of getting another ship…" She reached over and grabbed his hands, "You should be thankful I had this crap nailed into me at such a young age…"

Garnet looked at scene with a smile; somewhat misinterpreting the now-ex pirate's action, _'Are you certain about that answer you gave me earlier, Faris?'_ She shook her head, _'I've been reading too many of those romance novels for ideas for me and Zidane…'_

Zidane, meanwhile, was getting similar whispered lectures from Steiner after he caught him using the wrong spoon, "You fool! That's the desert spoon-not the one for soup!" he shook his right fist (his armor making a rattling noise as he did so) while the left one pointed to the correct utensil, "What would foreign diplomats think if they caught you make such a mistake?"

"Thank Gaia he's only the Prince Consort." The ex-thief answered cheekily- only infuriating the man more. In truth, he was more interested in the look on Faris's face- correctly guessing her true intentions, _'Ah… you want something from us, don't you? Sneaky…'_ The ex-thief smirked, _'I know that expression better than anyone… better tell Garnet so we can keep an eye on her.'_

Hearing a tap on the grand door closest to her chair, Garnet remembered the announcement she needed to make. She tapped her wine glass with her spoon repeatedly until everyone's attention was focused on her, "May I have your attention, please?"

She took a glance at Steiner and Beatrix- who gave her knowing nods. She had already told them everything about the Hooded Man… but not about their new guest, "There is something important you all need to know…"

"Psst." Bartz whispered to Faris, "What do you think this is about? I'm clueless."

"We've only been here for almost two days- of course we don't know what's going on…"

Another series of knocks could be heard from the northern door. This time, _everyone_ heard it. A female voice spoke from the other side, _"Could you _please_ get on with it?! I'm really impatient when I'm hungry!"_

Garnet facepalmed, "I was just about to… I thought I had a servant deliver food to my room for you…."

"_That guy? Oh…"_ The voice paused for a few moments before answering bashfully, _"I kind of knocked him out- still jumpy from that jerk kidnapping me…"_

Garnet sighed, "I was going to give you a more suspenseful entrance similar to one of Lord Avon's plays…" She turned to her fiancé, "You know the one I'm referring to, right Zidane?"

"Ah… _The Count of Monte' Crystal_…" Zidane grinned, giving her a thumbs-up, "One of my favorite roles I played in Tantalus- good choice!"

"Psst" Bartz whispered to Faris again, "What are they talking about?"

Faris raised an eyebrow at the couple, whispering back to the Mime, "I don't know… but they're certainly fond of theatrics…"

Steiner scratched his head in confusion, "Your Highness?"

"Your Highness?" Beatrix asked, getting up from her chair. She bowed slightly, "May I?"

Garnet nodded, and the General of the Alexandrian Army opened the door to let out the Sorceress Rinoa, "Hello!" She greeted cheerily before quickly walking to the empty chair to fill up.

The rest of the crew sweatdropped at this, but the Summoner explained, "She's usually more chatty; she's just hungry… now then, time to explain…"

Hidden with a Vanish spell, EnigMa smirked at the explanation she was giving…

…After all, the orders he had given her prior to this were to both reveal him AND let them know some bonus information as well.

Garnet had refused his original orders to keep it all secret, so he modified them to be more agreeable…

Knowing his will had been fulfilled, he exited as quickly and quietly as he had entered- preparing for business regarding a mage and child of Mobliz…

* * *

After Locke and Celes had come over, the rest of the day went along as always for Terra: a garden for food that needed tending, kids to feed, work on repairing the second house so things are less crowded (Locke and Celes would be able to bunk there alright, but it wasn't safe enough for Katarin), a bit of monster hunting by former Returners for meat, and- right now…

…Giving the dogs baths- it was the time of the week to do so. They had two dogs other than Interceptor with them: Sophie and Hyde. Jeckle was a Doberman Pinscher, Hyde was a Beauceron, and Interceptor appeared to be a mix of the two.

Terra scrubbed down Hyde with a sponge- almost ready to have him rinsed after, "You're such a good boy aren't you? _Aren't you?!"_

Hyde barked happily in reply- almost ready to lick her face before she poured a bucket of water over him to wash him over. Hyde shook the water off and got her cloak wet in process when she used it to shield herself. This made her laugh as the pooch licked her face happily afterwards.

Duane winced, "The dogs like YOU, sure…" He wasn't having nearly the same luck with Sophie- who didn't want anything to do with him.

Terra shook her head- Duane and animals didn't really click- it was always Katarin or Timmy that tried to care for them until she arrived… and they still helped her afterwards, "Well, at least you're trying…"

"Yeah…" Duane looked around the small rebuilding village in an attempt to find one of those other people good with the dogs, "Where's Timmy?"

The adoptive mother of this Village of Children looked as well, "He should be with Nicky…"

"You mean him?" He pointed towards the back of the big house where the black-haired boy was dozing off.

"…" Terra wringed the water from her flowery pink cloak and silently walked up right next to Nicky- putting a finger to her lips to signal Duane not to make a sound. Seeing Nicky fast asleep, Terra pinched the bridge of his nose…

A few moments later and Nicky woke up in a shock, "Wha-what?! Who's there?!" He looked around frantically until he looked up to see his _very_ displeased Mama.

"Where is Timmy?" Terra asked sternly- her purple eyes staring directly into the young boy's soul.

Nicky gulped, "Um… somewhere?"

"I told you to keep an eye on him! You _know_ how much he tends to wander off!"

Nicky held his hands up defensively, "I'm sorry- okay! I told him to go back inside…"

"Did you make sure he did?"

Nicky looked down shamefully at that. Terra let out a deep, frustrated sigh, "You'll have to go without supper tonight for this… for now though, you'll have to help Duane give Sophie a bath."

Nicky nodded reluctantly and walked over Duane- who was struggling to hold Sophie down as the young boy grabbed a wet rag with soap.

Seeing Nicky was doing his job- Terra drew out her sword, the Illumina, to make sure she was armed, _'This blade was special… though with magic gone, that 'special' element is gone… it'll get the job done if I run into trouble, though…'_

Checking to make sure she had her emergency dagger as well, Terra started to venture out into the woods east of the small town to search for Timmy.

However, she only had to go a few trees into it to find something, a note of some sort, nailed onto a tree. Terra closely examined the note and read the neat but intense penmanship:

_Dear Miss Branford,_

_I'm aware one of your children, Timmy, is missing. Don't worry- he didn't fall down a well. He's safe with me… however, if you don't come over at around 8:00 tonight- alone- his safety can't be certain… I'll be at a cave at the edge of the fog in the east. Be there, or be square._

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_EnigMa_

Terra raised an eyebrow at the "Hugs and Kisses" part, but knew what she'd have to do… but…

'_If it's in that direction… he's trying to lead me to THAT power. If my senses are right, it's half an hour away…'_ She looked up to see the sun's position, _'given the season, that means it's about 7:00 right now… I have to thank Locke for teaching me that. While I'm sure I learned it in the Empire, my memory of that lesson seems to be one of those that were destroyed.'_

The sun was setting and night would fall by the time she reached this cave he mentioned. First things she'd do would be to grab a compass from the larger house and inform Locke and Celes of the matter.

When she returned to the house, she saw that Celes was already at the front door with her arms crossed, wanting to know what happened. When Terra reached her, the former general explained, "Locke already went out to the west side of the woods to look around…" Celes noticed the note in the "sister's" hands, "I see… he was kidnapped, then."

Terra nodded and handed her the letter, "It says I have to go alone and be there by 8:00."

Celes read the note and frowned, "This man or woman has a twisted sense of humor…" She looked back at Terra, grabbing her shoulders, "Just promise me you'll be careful, okay? When Locke gets back, we'll come over as backup- hiding out nearby."

Terra smiled, hugging her friend, "Thank you, Celes…" When she let go, she asked, "Where are Duane, Katarin, and Relm?"

"Duane's preparing supper for the younger children; Katarin is resting after having hers, and Relm or either with the kids or working on a painting."

The adoptive mother of the kids nodded, "Just make sure Duane gets them to bed afterwards and that Relm gets to sleep as well." She looked down in thought, "I think she's going to have a sleeping disorder if she keeps this up…"

Celes nodded, "Understood- just go and find him."

Terra mouthed "Thank you" and rushed off into the woods- determined to get back Timmy…

* * *

As Terra walked into the cave in which the mysterious man claimed to have Timmy trapped in, she could feel the power she had been avoiding resonate with her dormant Esper side- beginning to feel shadows of the buzzing power that once crawled in her mind and gave her horrid headaches when it surged. That feeling disturbed her more than she'd like to admit.

_'Now now, Terra- don't get_ _paranoid...'_ The lavender-eyed woman thought to herself as she continued to walk through the dark and lonely tunnel. Thankfully, there weren't any monsters within, _'Calm down, Terra...that presence doesn't have to make home in you again- it's just magic... that power doesn't need be yours once more… nor the instability it_ _brings..._' She let out a deep, more relaxed sigh,_ 'And even so- this to save Timmy._'

While Terra did understand her Esper half and powers were a part of her... accepting them again wasn't exactly on her itinerary- mainly due to the whole "Lose control, destroy five-mile radius" thing.

She put any hesitation she had aside when she reached the bottom-most floor of the cave. Unlike the tunnels before it, it was well illuminated by a 4 ft. wide hole- the moonlight of the currently one moon in the sky making it quite lovely to Terra's eyes… reminded her of the Narshe Mines.

"_Welcome, Terra Madeline Branford!"_ A voice rang out, seemingly disembodied. The owner of the voice soon made his appearance in a burst of light, revealing the now familiar figure of EnigMa. He thrusted his arms into the air in a triumphant manner, "So glad you could come to see me!"

The "Mama" spent no time messing around, and put a hand to her chest as she asked, "Where's Timmy?"

EnigMa paused, "Eh?" He brought his arms back down, his gazing shying away for a second before turning back, "That's a funny story- you see…"

He snapped his fingers and the tunnel Terra had came in from collapsed.

Her lavender-blue purple eyes widened in shock, _'What the- wait… if he's barring off the point I could have left with Timmy in, that means either he's either intending to kill me, has already k-'_ Terra choked on her thoughts- trying to suppress the images of such nightmare, _'or…'_

"Timmy was never here in the first place… was he?" Terra realized.

* * *

Preparing to go after Terra, Locke and Celes stood a few meters outside of the front door- all ready for a fight if need be. Duane and Katarin stood at the door way- understanding exactly what the situation was and what was at stake.

Katarin looked at the older couple- a resigned look to stay behind on her face, "Just make sure both of them come back in one piece."

Locke nodded, giving her a reassuring grin, "Don't worry- we will…" He eyed Celes, who was making sure her sword was sharpened to her satisfaction, "After all- if they did do something with Terra while her 'big sister' is around… the last thing they'll remember will be seeing their feet once their heads hit the floor…"

Duane shivered, "Yeah, don't mess with Celes…"

"_Mama Terra?!"_

The four turned to the east. "Timmy…?" Katarin asked herself.

"_Uncle Locke?! Auntie Celes?!"_

Not a moment afterwards, a small figure could be seen emerging from the woods. The Adventurer and the ex-General dashed towards the boy that came out. The poor boy looked miserable and wet, but he seemed to have a blanket over him so it he'd hopefully avoid a cold. His eyes looked puffy and red- as if he had been crying not too long ago; but since the tears he seemed to have shed looked dry, he must have stopped a little while ago. When he saw the four outside, he brightened up immediately and dashed towards them.

Timmy embraced his 'uncle' as soon as he saw him and his 'auntie' coming towards him. He cried into Locke's vest, "I-I-I was so scared..."

Celes came over and touched the boy's shoulder comfortingly (for an Ice Queen like Celes could be, that meant a lot), "It's alright now…: She drew her sword with her other hand, "That bad man won't be doing _anything_ to hurt you when we get our hands on him…"

Timmy, though still sobbing, looked at her in mild confusion, "Wha—wha-what b-b-bad man?"

Locke raised an eyebrow at that, "The one that kidnapped you…" He let the child go, "There WAS a man that kidnapped you, right?"

The orphan shook his head, "N-no…" He pushed back a few sobs before he could continue more clearly, "There was that hooded man from earlier, but he just gave me this child and pointed me back here…"

Locke and Celes looked into each other's eyes as they came to an horrible realization.

Katarin came over and grabbed Timmy's hand. The boy asked, "Where's Mama Terra?"

The two Returners got up and ran into the woods- Locke running backwards for a moment to shout to Katarin, "Get him inside- diner's still warm! We'll be back as soon as we can!"

The young mother nodded and dragged Timmy back inside- the boy getting the idea that something was wrong and fearfully went along with her- hoping his Mama was alright…

* * *

He shrugged, "Yeah- I'm a dick... but I couldn't actually bring myself to kidnap a kid…" He paused for a second, "Sure, I kidnapped three women and sent a airship into calculated crash-landing, but that stuff was planned out." EnigMa scratched the back of his head, "I kinda lost track of time… didn't want to bother you after seeing you with those kids, but what can you do?"

Needless to say, Terra was less than happy to hear what his reasoning was, but chose to indulge him anyway, "What is it you _want_ from me."

He chuckled, "You _know_ what I want- don't think I didn't noticed those occasional glances in this place's direction." He noted upon seeing the surprised reaction on her face. He folded his arms, "This isn't the exact same magic Kefka took control of before, if that's what you're worried about…" He grinned behind his cloak, "This is a whole new ballgame... kind of- stronger than the Triad- definitely, but more than just a source of magic."

"Stronger than the Triad…" Terra looked down in thought, musing to herself, _'If it's stronger than the Triad- I should be feeling a lot more than this right now...'_ She looked back up at him, "What is this 'source' anyway?"

EnigMa grinned from behind his hood, "More like 'sources'... and I was hoping you'd ask- BEHOLD!" He threw his hands into the air and fired a blast of blue energy from them and at the ceiling. She couldn't feel any magic from that blast, but did feel some illuminate for a second from another source before it faded again.

Suddenly, the earth started shaking around them, throwing Terra off-guard and off-balance as the shaking intensified. A square shaped rune with circles at the corners-the corner one closer to Terra red, to the left of her yellow, closer to EnigMa blue, and to the right of Terra green. A triangle shaped rune then appeared in the middle of it all- this one pure white.

But from the triangle in the middle...

_'That mark…'_ She hesitantly stepped towards it, _'T__hat can't be... it feels like it, but that can't be possible... I must be mistaken.'_

As she approached, the room trembled once more…

"Behold- the true power of Gaia!" EnigMa roared. The shaking intensified until a bright flash broke the trance Terra had entered. When she came to, there were five new objects decorating the room. The Red circle now had a very dimly glowing red crystal shaped like a magicite that was about 4 ft. tall floating five above it above it; it looked like it was struggling to keep active. The blue circle had a similar gem of a blue hue and glow. The same went for the yellow and green runes as well.

Terra frowned, _'I can't feel anything from them... is it because I'm missing my Esper? Is my ability to read them limited?' _

"The Four Elemental Crystals that maintain the world!" EnigMa declared. He paused for dramatic effect before turning towards the reader, "Yes, you should have seen that coming…" he turned back to Terra, "And now for the piece ala resistance…"

The central triangle rune let out a bright flash that both blinded the blonde, but also gave her a sense of pleasure she felt disturbed to feel. When that faded, a crystal the size of the block of ice Valigarmanda had been frozen in floated above. This one almost _exactly_ resembled a shard of magicite… with two minor exceptions.

The crystal itself was the same blue-ish sea-green that the shards Terra and her friends had collected during the war against the Gestahlian Empire and, later, Kefka… but instead of the six beads of white light hovering around a glowing red core, this one only had three beads: one red, one blue, and one yellow. Terra knew this represented the Demon, Zurvan; the Goddess, Sophia; and the Fiend; Sefilos - the three gods that composed the Warring Triad (these names are derived from the names their designer, Tetsuya Nomura, originally planned for them). Instead of a glowing red core, another crystal stood in the middle that eerily resembled the one Terra received in Dissidia- only with a few small white streaks in its flame-like red and black design. It did seem to be cracked in a few places, though.

"This is the Crystal of Magic… also called the Magicryst. From its pulse are the four crystals are kept in balance and magic, the Warring Triad, and the Espers were born…" EnigMa told her.

Terra's eyes widened at the claim, "You're kidding! This power isn't as..." She shook her head, "Why would a crystal create a trio of gods? How do you even _know_ any of this?"

"My boss is of a _higher power_, Miss Branford..." The hooded man replied with a disturbingly calm tone. He looked Terra directly in the eye- even if she couldn't see his, "My boss tells me you have a particularly strong bond with magic; though also refuses to elaborate on what this connection is." Seeing the girl bite her lip, he waved the un-asked question off, "I won't make you tell what it is... as much not knowing that kills me... but I _will_ ask you this: can you tell me what you think is wrong here?"

Terra nodded, _'So he doesn't know about my Esper half… that's relief- if someone who could do this wanted to abuse the beast it can be...'_ "The power I feel radiating off the Magicryst… it feels like it should be much stronger than that, but it's… well, its feels like its core is out-of-balance and broken- which I assume is why the crystal appears cracked itself. I can't feel the Elemental Crystals, but I'm assuming they're running low- like they aren't plugged into their power source."

The mystery man nodded, "Quite… when Kefka destroyed the balance of power between the statues and changed the face of the globe, he discovered the existence of these crystals and turned them off since he wasn't able to find them and take their powers. The crystals were preventing the harlequin from doing more damage like poisoning the earth and seas, so this proved necessary for him. When you and your friends put an end to him, magic was cut off from the world since the Magicryst was damaged and unable to function properly. The Elemental Crystals, however, _were_ reactivated and the balance of the world was restored…"

Terra tilted her head down, "Until now, I take it…"

EnigMa nodded, "The one thing every world involved in this has in common is that they all have four elements that take the physical form of crystals when necessary. The Elemental Crystals here have been running on the juice they had stored from before Kefka up to this point… I'd say you'd only have a little over two years until the earth will begin declining anew."

The Esperkin still seemed wary, "I think I understand what you want me to do. You basically want me use the Magicryst's dormant magic to repair the crystal itself." She hesitantly touched the crystal, but pulled her hand away when she felt her Esper half wake up again, _'But if that happens, I'd have to take up the burden of my powers once more… without some sort of threat to vent them on, I could easily hurt my friends and family if I'm not careful...'_

The cloaked man went silent for second, before answering, "Yeah- something like that… you'd know more than me- magic isn't exactly my strong suit."

Terra raised an eyebrow at that, "Then what was it you used to bring these crystals here?"

EnigMa waved her question off, "Eh… partly my boss's power, partly my own- I can explain that later." He pointed right at her, "The important thing is that you're trapped here without magic, and magic needs you even more."

The young woman drew Illumina cautiously in case things went bad, "Do you know how much chaos was wrought about this world by those who sought to control the power of magic? I don't want that to happen again...!" She shouted in defiance… though there was a sense of hesitation in those words.

The hooded man gave a dry laugh at her retort- humor leaving him, "Don't give me that shit- I know it's the burden of YOUR powers you are truly worried about… but guess what: you don't really have a choice!" He up to the opening in the ceiling, "There's a storm coming, Miss Branford, and the likelihood of everything you love being swept up by it is at about 95%... the odds aren't in your favor, are they?"

As much as she wouldn't care to admit it, Terra knew he had a point- she was being selfish, _'He's right… if people like him and creatures like that pink thing are appearing, trouble really will be coming.'_

And it wasn't just that: Terra remembered that flower Tina had picked for her mother and how happy Katarin was to see it. _'If the Elemental Crystals were to run out of power…'_

"So are we going to do what needs to be done?"

Terra hesitantly nodded and started walking up towards the Magicryst, _'Looks like I don't have a choice here…'_ She put her hand on the crystal, bracing her senses for the wave of power that would pass over her when she did. "I bore this burden once… I'll just have to do it again."

EnigMa grinned behind his hood and clapped his hands, "That's the spirit! Do this and you'll be prepared for the Chaos ahead! I won't be bothering you anymore!"

'_I doubt that…'_ Terra still didn't like the fact that the burning beast at the back of her mind was going to return with a vengeance or the fact that she wouldn't be able to suppress them when needed without her father's help… but as she thought: there was no choice in the matter. He reached out to the dormant magic within and felt an incredibly strong healing magic that she had only felt something similar from a certain Cure-Focused Esper during Kefka's reign, _"…Renew!"_

With that word, a powerful flash of light sparked from the crystal that forced EnigMa to shield eyes. Every little strand of Terra's hair turned into a bright emerald hue; her eyes turning from a lavender-blue purple to a deeper shade of violet… just like what had happened moments before she turned into an Esper for the first time. Terra let out a sharp gasp as she felt that part of herself that been dormant for nearly three years begin to return to her, _'That was… intense- it burned as much I as I remembered… it doesn't hurt anymore right now, but this isn't over._'

Another flash appeared and when it faded, the Magicryst was glowing with life- the cracks no longer present. The other four crystals came to life as well and let out a simultaneous flash of light that completely blinded EnigMa.

Terra let out a silent scream as the power intensified and nearly made her lose her senses. Her fingertips sparked with light blue magical energy but that faded when it moved her upper torso with more intensity. It soon covered the rest of her frame as well, _'No… not again- not right now!'_

Finally, the five crystals rose a few more feet into the air before diving back into the ground- flowing into it as if it were water. While it would be invisible to most, a massive white wave of power emerged from where the Magicryst once stood and engulfed the entire cave. But it didn't stop there- no…

* * *

Locke and Celes were halfway to the cave before Celes stopped all of a sudden. It was if she had literally froze in place.

Her boyfriend turned to her in concern, "Celes?"

"_Get down!"_ She mouthed, and as soon as she spoke a white wave as bright as the sun appeared in the horizon. Locke did as she said and rolled to the floor; lying down and holding his arms over his head. Celes couldn't move, though- whatever spell seemed to be under had her frozen in place.

Locke tilted his head towards her and saw, "Celes? Why aren't you-"

But his question was stolen from his breath when the wave passed over them. Locke only felt a brush or wind pass over, but Celes was covered in a light wave of frost and static…

* * *

EnigMa felt absolutely giddy, _"At last! FINALLY! I'm freed from the chains that bind me! Now I can go and do whatever I want; talk to whoever I want; and screw over who ever I want!"_ He let out a deep breath at that- wiping sweat off his unseen brow, "Granted- the power is nice, but the restrictions… not so much." He rubbed his hands together, "But now that the restrictions are gone… what am I going to do? Maybe finally kill that bastard dragon for its atrocities against the worlds... and for what it did to _her_…"

EnigMa had his back to the Half-Esper, lost in thought, "It is weak now, but... maybe I'll take a vacation first- I don't think I've had a real break in over a year for one reason or another…" Realizing he wasn't getting any sort of response from the other occupant of the room, he turned to her, "Miss Branford…?"

Actually taking the time to look at her after all of this was over, it was clear there was something wrong. Terra was breathing deeply as if she was suffocating under something. The aura surrounding body had not only intensified to the point that the young woman was hard to see, but it had changed from light blue to a hot pink that seemed close to turning red. As she floated a foot above the ground, she could couldn't think clearly- using the little sense she had left to try to resist what was about to happen.

As soon as that little bit of resistance faded, she let out a scream filled with a conflicting mixture of pain, joy, sorrow, and rage as the aura surrounding her flared to its peak and turned a frantic blood red. Her clothes were torn apart by the power involved, but the light surrounding her did well to hide her form. The nails on her hands and feet turned into sharp yellow claws and her teeth became small fangs. Her feet changed shape into something that was more like a dog or a cat's. Her limbs were long and supple with the slightest hint of muscle tone (though they likely weren't actually longer than they were in human form).

Her hair lengthened drastically to the point it reached to her lower back and its color turned into a light, slightly-pinkish lavender and turned light purple at the ends. Her body soon became covered in a coat of fur the same color as her hair…but it seemed so light it could be easily be mistaken for skin. Around her hands and growing lighter after they passed her wrists and ending near her elbows as well as her feet and growing lighter as well after passing her and ending near her lower thighs, however, this fur grew slightly thicker and took a light purple hue- with lighter tufts near the elbows.

Floating inches above the ground, Terra opened her now-glowing eyes to reveal that they had become a feral blood red with yellow irises. She growled bestially at EnigMa- baring her fangs at him and claws charged with magical energy as red-pink as that had been around the rest of her body.

"…Why do I have a bad feeling this is going to **suck**." EnigMa quickly leapt to the side when Terra flung two rounds of five medium-large light orbs that blew up at the cave wall behind him…

* * *

**...Well, someone's going to die next chapter... everything is finally coming together just in time for the forces of evil to make their move. Next time it's Terra vs. EnigMa! The Warrior, Gill, Lightning, Vaan, Prishe, Penelo, and Walz vs. Garland, Astos, and Barthandelus! The conclusion of the Rydia and Ceodore Flashback! Most of this and more in Chapter 11!**

**Be sure to review: criticism is appreciated so long as it is constructive!**


	11. Not-so Friendly Fire 1

**Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War**

**Chapter 11: Not-so Friendly Fire 1**

* * *

**Author's Note:**** There was a lot I could do with this chapter- so many things I want to show. However, I had to narrow my list down into half. And this chapter is already over 12K mark... however, that will let me have more room to work with for next chapter. Note that the title doesn't say "Part 1"... there is a reason for that which will come to light in the future.**

**I have a request for aspiring artists out there: if you can make a picture of Terra cuddling a Mew, I will make it my new profile image. The sheer amount of fluffy cuteness of such an image will destroy all of humanity via a rain of chocolate flying monkeys, but when the choco-pocalypse is over, the world will be reborn to the exact moment you saw that image the first time.**

**Now sit back, relax, and let this chapter take you for a ride!**

* * *

**Back with Rydia and Ceodore to end this flashback series…**

_It didn't take long for Syrup and Maple to figure out where the Summoner turned pig must have gone. Getting hit with a Pig spell often makes the victim hungry, and seeing as important guests were arriving later in the day..._

_The grandmother and granddaughter had split up for this mission- since Syrup was old, she decided that dragging Rydia over to the pig sty they planned to prepare for her was too much for her old body to handle._

_Maple, however, was still young (13) and could handle carrying a piglet over… she wasn't exactly happy about it, though._

"_Crystals damn it!" She cursed- seeing the giant mess Rydia had made of the giant feast planned for later, "If I have to clean this up, there's going to be BLOOD!"_

_Indeed, this wasn't a pleasant sight. Scraps of meat, vegetables, and pastries- anything edible on the table had been devoured. On the center of the table, right in the middle of this mess was a fattened green sow in the center of the mess…_

_Maple winced, "Oh, King Cecil is going to be _pissed…_" She took note of the small pig in front of her. While Rydia was likely only 3/5 her weight as a human, she was definitely at least twice that when full._

_That fact she was asleep wasn't helping with what Maple was ordered to do. _

_The apprentice sat on the chair adjacent to the Summoner-turned-Pig and leaned her right elbow on the table- her chin rest in her right hand as she looked the sow with disgust. While most of the White Mages viewed Queen Rosa in high regard even before her ascension to the throne, Rydia of the Mist was Maple's idol. To see her like this… sickened her to no end. As such, she wanted to get this over with even more than she would were it anyone else. _

_Getting down to business, she tapped the fingers of her left hand on the table as tried to answer the question: "How the hell am I going to carry something 3 to 4 times my weight? It's not as if I can magically make her- oh…"Realization dawned upon her face, "That's right…"_

_Maple facepalmed before she quickly chanted a relatively basic White Magic spell to solve her problem. An aura of light-blue energy feathers glowed around Pig Rydia and sent her floating a foot above the table._

_The sudden change in gravity did not sit well with the sow- woke up and squealed loudly in panic. Maple grimaced in annoyance as she pushed the flying pig (wait a minute- pigs flying… oh **!) off the table and down towards the stables with little effort, "Can it, piggy! I'm to save you- not to make bacon by frying your ass!"_

_Clearly, mentioning pork products didn't help Rydia's panic and just made her struggle harder. She tried biting Maple to get away but the apprentice chemist/mage only had to make sure she was holding her from the back._

_As Maple took the sow away, EnigMa (not the one in the present that's fighting Terra) happened to teleport in to see the results of his little prank…_

…_Needless to say, Rydia getting turned into a pig was NOT what was expecting at all._

'_How the hell did this happen?!_ The boss is going to have my hide if this isn't fixed!'

_He considered interfering to fix it himself until he got a good look at Maple, _'Didn't I meet her once at Hyrule? Or at least, an alternate version of her?'

_If she was who he thought she was, he had nothing to worry about- Rydia was going to be fine soon. Letting out a sigh of relief, he left as quickly as he came._

* * *

_About a half-hour later Maple had succeeded in bringing her to the stables and saw that her grandmother had setup a table right next to the doorway and was working on some sort concoction to fix this mess. She had several flasks of substances out with one empty one labeled "Pig Antidote","I see you've brought our unfortunate Summoner Pig with not too much difficulty… I told you learning status spells like Float would be useful."_

_Maple blinked at how her grandmother was able to tell of what she did without even looking in her direction… the apprentice had much to learn. Maple got to the point in a much more respectful tone than you'd find her using around anyone else (for example, how she was speaking to Pig Rydia), "Do you want me to put her in the pen over there, Mistress Syrup?" She pointed to the nearest pig sty in the stables- which already had three other swine._

_Syrup nodded, "Pigs are social animals, so having company with what is currently her own species should prove beneficial for her state."_

_Maple promptly pushed still struggling Rydia into the pig pen and let the Float spell fade. The green sow calmed down and started familiarizing herself with the other swine. Soon she was hogging in on the feed with the other three without a care._

_As the Summoner-turned-Pig started rolling in the mud to cool herself down, Maple looked away with a pained expression, _'The only cool female mage I know and she's been downgraded to this by an accident…'

"_I realize this is painful, dear," Syrup consoled her granddaughter as she started finishing up her concoction, "But she'll be fine and able to look back at this and laugh…" The old witch paused before reminiscing, "I myself was victim to the same curse myself when I…. 'toyed' with a potion mixture I shouldn't have made."_

_The apprentice raised an eyebrow at that, "You really made a potion that would turn you into a literal pig and not just those strange ones that walk on two legs?"_

"_I was just around the age Lady Rydia would be if she hadn't spent ten years of her life in the Feymarch for two months our time." She continued- ignoring Maple's comment, "I can't tell you much about it- ah!" Syrup held out her finished flask of pink fluid with a satisfied smirk, "This will work…"_

_Maple walked up to her curiously, "I take it the potion is ready?"_

"_Not yet… hand me that packet of Diet Rations." Syrup pointed to the bag on the floor. Maple did as she was told and watched her grandmother pour the potion into the bag- the enchanted oats absorbing the liquid seamlessly. The master chemist smirked, "Excellent…"_

_Syrup handed over the bag to her granddaughter, "Just make her eat _all_ of these- that should suffice in dispelling her affliction." _

_The apprentice chemist/mage nodded and went over to the sty. Seeing the bag of oats, Rydia and the other three pigs all ran up to the gate in curiosity- sniffing at the bag. Maple's left eye twitched, _'How do I get these oinkers to buzz off?'

_She turned back to Syrup, "Any ideas on how to get the real pigs out of the way?"_

"_Just let them sniff the bag- only Lady Rydia should find them appetizing."_

_Sure enough, as soon as the other swine got a good whiff, they avoided it like the plague. Rydia, however, was trying to climb over the gate for the enchanted oats. _'Granny wasn't kidding- yikes…'_ Maple pretty much dropped the bag in and watched as the green sow devoured them in the blink of an eye._

_With that done, she went back to chill in the mud some more. Seeing no changes taking place after a few minutes, the apprentice turned to her mistress/grandmother, "What's gives? I thought the potion was supposed to change her back!"_

"_Let go through her digestive track. The oats should hit in right about…now."_

_Suddenly, Rydia just flopped down in the mud- body convulsing in pain. She swiftly… 'excreted' all of the pounds she gained as a pig as pink smoke began to obscure her form. When it subsided, a sea-green haired woman had returned to normal…_

_Maple closed her closed in embarrassment._

"_Huh…?" Rydia got up to her knees in a daze- rubbing her forehead, "What… what happened?"_

"_Um…" Maple point at her, "Lady Rydia- you may want to…take a look at yourself…"_

_Rydia nodded and did so…_

"_**CEODOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRREEE!" **__The scream that came as a result could be heard all around the castle... except the throne room, apparently._

_After this, Rydia found Ceodore (who had taken that nap after all of his own accord) and "voiced her displeasure" (summoned Bahamut to scare him straight- which the Dragon King agreed to after being updated on what happened). _

_Afterwards, Ceodore had the bright idea of playing tag again… which led to the two of them returning to Cecil's side._

* * *

Now back in the present…

Cecil and Rosa (having returned from visiting the White Mages) were both on their thrones (Cecil's on the left, Rosa's on the right); awaiting their guests entrance so the festivities could begin. Ceodore was on his father's lap and Rydia was standing to the right of Rosa's throne also awaiting their entrance.

Having had to wait four hours for them to arrive, King Cecil expected them coming to the throne room wouldn't take too long…

…Yet they've been waiting for half an hour since their arrival was announced.

Rosa looked at her husband worriedly- noticing that while his overall demeanor was perfectly neutral, the fact that his left eye was twitching spastically wasn't a good sign, "Dearest, are you…" Cecil's left eye went out of control and was dilating, "…You need to get that looked at."

Cecil looked straight ahead. It was evident in the strained tone he then spoke with that he was definitely off-kilter, "…Five hours- they are five hours late. I've had to sit in one place for five hours. I consider myself a patient man, and if it wasn't for the fact I can't move from this one spot I would be perfectly fine… I am this close to snapping into a psychotic frenzy that could demolish the entire castle."

Rydia rolled her eyes "If I had to endure getting turned into a pig without going on a killing spree, you can handle a little thing like this."

The King of Baron slowly nodded. As his left eye refocused itself, an obvious thought he mentally kicked himself for not seeing came to mind. He turned to address the Summoner of Mist herself, "Perhaps you may want to check in on them yourself. Rosa and I can't leave due to a foolish line of code I intend to have burned when this is over and sending Ceodore with you…" He, Rydia, and Rosa all shared a glance at the child, "…clearly isn't a good idea if your story is true, so perhaps greeting your fellow ambassadors will take your mind of what happened."

Rydia did a small bow (more out of courtesy than anything else- she wasn't required to do so), "Understood." She got up, "I was wondering when you were going to ask."

Rydia left the throne room and ventured to the airship docks…

* * *

When she arrived, the reason it was taking so long for them to come was obvious.

Rydia peeked her head from the hallway connected to the airship hanger and quickly ducked back when a stray fireball nearly hit her. Looking again, she saw a giant brawl unfolding in front of her.

Yang made a diving kick at a well-tanned blond-hair man; who flipped out of the way at the last second. Before he hit the ground, the blond-haired suddenly charged at him in mid-air- the blade of his crystalline sword with bubbles coming from it turned away from the King of Fabul so only the hilt would connect. Yang was hit in the jaws and was knocked to the floor. He rolled his way back onto his feet- taking a moment to spit out some blood before attacking his opponent anew.

Edge, meanwhile, was fighting two foes at once while using two katanas (Murasume and Masamune)- a somewhat scantily-clad girl with golden hair who was using twin daggers and a silver-haired woman wearing black leather and a black sword. The blonde did a charging spin towards him that he countered by kicking her in the gut and quickly blocked a jumping strike from the silver-haired woman that followed immediately after by crossing his katana's together and pushing back. Rydia wouldn't admit it, but she was a bit impressed by how easily he countered his opponents.

Palom and Porom were battling a woman with heterochromatic eyes and brown hair that was using a kind of weapon Rydia had only see used by the machine enemies found in the Tower of Babil and the Red Moon- one in each hand. She fired at their feet- forcing them to back away but Palom kept launching Fira streams of flame while Porom supported the entire party with healing spells.

On the sidelines watching this affair were the Elder of Mysidia, King Edward, and the latter's royal secretary Harley. She noticed that Edward was playing his harp; the power infused in his songs empowering the four fighting the potential invaders. However, he was paying more attention to reading Harley's expression, who was watching the fight with a critical eye. The Elder was focused on his pupils- little else.

Behind them were three other unknown figures surrounded by guards: a woman with long violet locks, a giant of a man clad in sky-blue armor that barely fit him, and a silver-haired man wearing a red bandana. It seemed they were captured and chose go quietly unlike the quad here before them.

Then the likely reason the fight started became apparent when she noticed a huge red airship with a level of technology reminiscent of the Lunar Whale had destroyed a good fourth of the hangar when it tried to land. There was another airship that landed on the other side that resembled a more old-fashioned model from several years ago Rydia assumed the three cooperative strangers.

As quietly as she could, Rydia snuck over to near Edward and Harley so she could listen in without notice.

"So, what do you make of this?" Edward asked his secretary as he played another song that cast Haste on his allies.

Harley readjusted her then gave her professional analysis, "It seems that our invaders may not mean us harm. However, Palom's charge seems to have locked them into our fighters into combat. As well as our four are doing against their four, Cecil is likely unhappy with our tardiness."

"That's all I needed to hear." The Damcyan natives turned around to where the voice came from but only saw a veil of mist. The mist spread through the room- stopping the battles in their tracks.

The blond-haired man (who, if you haven't figured it out by now is Tidus) shouted, "What the hell?!" in alarm. This seemed to be the general sentiment with Rikku and Paine as well.

Yuna, though, widened her eyes in shock and put a hand to her chest, "It can't be… an Aeon?"

Edge smirked underneath his cowl, "I was wondering when you'd enter the stage, lovely Rydia."

Yang, Palom, and Porom knew exactly what was coming and braced themselves.

The guards and the uninvited guests were shocked when a floating serpentine white dragon with green leaf-like fins form from the mist covering the hangar bay in the middle of the two parties- splitting them up with a stream of radiant, white, mist-like flame. Her Summoner then appeared beneath her; arms crossed sternly and whip at the ready, "You all have a _lot_ of explaining to do."

Yang, being the oldest and wisest of the group, tried to do the explaining, "Well, you see-"

"These creeps parked in and trashed the hangar bay with their Lunar Whale-grade airship!" Palom interrupted loudly, getting a smack to the head by his twin.

Rydia rolled her eyes, "Thanks, but I _noticed that_…" She took another looked at the futuristic airship with an apprehensive glance, "It's really hard not to…" Turning her gaze back to the crowd, "I mean why haven't you sent for someone?! You KNOW about that idiotic custom they have in Baron!"

Everyone FFIV character in the room went silent at that- a unanimous look of "Oops…" shared between them.

Rydia's facepalmed, "Don't tell me NONE of you remembered?"

The who was _supposed_ to be the wisest in the room raised his hand- letting out a cough before trying to explain, "TO be fair, it is an outdated-"

"**SHUT UP!"** Rydia snapped- cracking her whip in front of her. The others were shocked by just how snippy she was acting.

Edge tried reaching for her shoulder to calm her down (hoping she wouldn't slap it away this time like she did most of the time due to his… 'usual' intentions), "Is yelling really-!"

"Edge, **don't."** Rydia warned him, clenching her teeth in barely contained fury. The stress she'd accumulated that day had reached its peak, "While we've been waiting for you, I had a babysitting **nightmare** with Ceodore. I don't know **what** possessed him to act that way, but given I was turned into a pig in both body AND mind over an hour only to wake up naked and covered in mud, **I don't care.**"

She pointed to the exit, **"GET!** All of you!"

"But-!"

"**OUT!"** The Mist Dragon breathed Radiant Breath again to emphasize the point.

Tidus and Rikku were going to shout, but Yuna signaled them to be silent- knowing full well an Eidolon's (technically Aeon, but same difference) power. She hesitantly raised her hand, "What about us? Are you going to have sent to the dungeon's or-"

"You'll be coming along; Cecil will decide what happens to you." Rydia explained before taking in a deep breath to calm herself. She pointed at Firion, Maria, and Guy, "Same with those three. Everybody clear?"

* * *

"_**I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE THAT LITTLE BITCH!"**_

Kefka threw out orb after orb of violent blue energy across the ruins of his tower- the resulting explosions turning the already ravaged rubble into even smaller charred pieces. The damaged nearly caused the cave he had already repaired from it to collapse several times were it not for the clown's sense of self-preservation.

Meanwhile, in another part of the ruins, Sephiroth had his legs crossed in meditative yoga pose- intent on restoring his powers as quickly as possible. Being revived from the dead had cost him a portion of the power he had attained from his plots involving Meteor and Geostigma that likely would have put him on a higher level that he believed, while wouldn't be able to overcome Chaos, could give him the power to crush anything and everyone else…

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Sephiroth grimaced in frustration when he heard several obnoxiously loud explosions echoing throughout the caverns, _'Well, not _everyone_… that damn clown among others could still be threats even with that power…'_

The silver-haired swordsman was far from humble… however, he couldn't deny there being potential obstacles to whatever plans he may devise among his so-called allies. He himself still wasn't sure what his ultimate goals were, so he decided to merely shoot for his personal target for the time being.

'_For now,'_ He thought to himself as he navigated the twisted tunnels Kefka had made to get about the ruins- the swordsman personally carving lines across their walls with the tip of the Masamune to vent stress, _'I'll start with silencing the clown's racket- either with words or violence.' _

After several minutes of constant explosions, Kefka fell down to his knees hunched back and heaving for breathe. His own powers from the Warring Triad had yet to fully return to him so his destructive potential was limited… though at least he still had all of the power from killing an entire army of Espers and taking their magicite.

Sephiroth walked into the room at this point and saw the drained harlequin at his weakest… he eyed his Masamune intently…

…He shook his head; there were better things to do than murder clowns… especially when they could still be useful.

He calmly walked up to the deranged God of Magic with an expression as neutral as he could manage, "Are we _done_ with our temper tantrum?"

Kefka slowly got up and turned to him- an eerie smile stretching across his face, "I destroyed some things- I'll be good. Better question…" His smile turned into a frown and a furious glare- golden magic flaring around him, "Have you been _doing_ anything this whole time?"

"Not as such, no." Sephiroth shook his head, "I have yet to find an adequate stratagem or opening to exploit…"

This didn't make the harlequin happy and he fired another Ultima at the ceiling, "That WHAT I thought…" He pointed at him accusingly- getting right into his face, "While you've been sitting on your ass, I've actually _done_ shit to get our plans moving!"

Sephiroth raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Really now? Such as…"

Kefka tackled the swordsman into the wall- Sephiroth not resisting or being phased by the action since he knew the clown couldn't kill him. With widened bright green eyes, he gritted his teeth, "Oh, _just_ little things, like, I don't know… trying to locate the Elemental Crystals of my world so I can take their _power_ and keep control over **all magic**!"

Kefka had screamed the last part directly into the silver-haired man's right ear- making him wince and shove the clown off him, "The Elemental Crystals? Explain."

The harlequin got off the rusty floor made of old metal walkways from Vector and waved off his question, "Well, it's actually a fifth crystal I really want, but destroying the others would have been fun too." He turned to Sephiroth, "Basically, the four Elemental Crystals hold the world together and without them everything would have rotted away and Gaia would die."

"And the fifth?"

Kefka frowned and started floating in midair, "The Crystal of Magic: The Magicryst. It's what made the Warring Triad for reasons no one knows and what powers the other four crystals… When I changed the face of my world, I set out to poison the earth and seas so nothing could grow and everyone would eventually die off in misery."

"I take it they stopped you?"

"Bingo! When I found out they existed, I immediately tried searching for them and gain even more power and stop them from stopping me from having more fun, but they always evaded my grasp." He stretched his arms out to the ceiling, "But just when it seemed I'd fail to leave that kind of mark, I came up with an idea…"

"Oh?"

"If the Magicryst I could tell was powering them also made the Warring Triad, what was stopping me from using that link myself to destroy it?" Kefka grin weakened for a second, "As it turned out… not able to be there in person did- but I still damaged it any and kept it from powering the other crystals. It let me do as I pleased and gave me reassurance that even if those Returners killed me, I'd still win in the end."

"I'll admit that was clever- especially since no one knows that legend… but what's the problem now?"

"My beast doll seems to have found them first. She's probably fixed the Magicryst and the damage I made right about…"

The white wave from earlier then passed over them without incident.

"…Now." He stomped his feet in frustration and loudly whined, "_I wanted to use it to pump my kitten with so much magic her mind would he destroyed and she'd become my beast of death!_ _Then I'd make her kill her idiot friends and those brats she took in with barbaric and sadistic manner!"_

Sephiroth had to close his eyes, and when he opened them he saw Kefka throwing spheres of Ultima spells again, _'More noise… wonderful.' _

As he prepared to leave the room again, an idea suddenly came to mind, "Kefka?"

Said clown stopped his demolition at once. He returned to floating and turned to answer- picking at his right ear- having gone from furious to bored in an instant, "What is it?"

"Would I be right in assuming that the fact the crystals of your world being damaged is the cause of the differences in the flow of time between worlds?"

Kefka paused for a second in thought. He shrugged, "…Probably- why?"

Sephiroth summoned his wing and wrapped it around him without a word- vanishing in a flurry of black feathers.

The former God of Magic (now simply the God of the Warring Triad) rolled his eyes- pointing at the spot his so-called partner was with his left hand in mild annoyance, "Such a secluded little mama's boy mistaking not talking for being cool…" He then summoned a familiar black and red crystal with a flame-like pattern into his right hand and giggled, "At least I still have you, my pretty… We'll just keep picking out the worst memories your old owner has that my Slave Crown sealed off and _more_ to make her suffer."

* * *

"Celes!"

Celes seemed to be in a sort of trance- not moving or responding to Locke's yelling at all. The pale-brown haired man shook his girlfriend's shoulders again.

After a minute, the Ex-General heard something to her right and turned to face it, "Look out!"

Locke was pushed out of the way as Celes blocked an ramming attack from a monstrous, armored, humped goat with her sword with a heavy grunt. Before Locke could take a strike, Celes pointed pulled her blade up by the handle, and summoned a huge block of ice; then thrust a few inches downward to have the ice impale the monster, a Devoahan.

The Adventurer gaped at the Devoahan's corpse, turning back to Celes, "That was…."

Celes nodded, staring intently at the fallen beast, "Magic… so that's what our fake-kidnapper was trying to do." Locke paused for a few seconds before preparing to bolt off in the direction of the cave. Before he could run off, though, Celes grabbed him by the right shoulder, "I wouldn't be too hasty to find them."

The Adventurer stared at her puzzlingly, "Why? Who knows what this guy could be doing her as we speak-!"

The Ex-General raised an eyebrow at Locke's haste, "You DO remember what having magic back means for Terra, right?"

Locke's eyes widened, "Oh shit."

"Exactly. Terra's Esper form is feral and destructive when she isn't in control, and being in the epicenter of such a stronger pulse of magic pretty much guarantees she won't be." Celes put on a dry smile, "I'd be more worried for your fake-kidnapper than her."

As soon as she finished, the couple heard an loud explosion from the direction of the cave.

The two froze at the sound for a minute.

"…" Locke turned to Celes, reaching out a hand, "so we watch the fight from a safe distance?"

She nodded in agreement, "That would be the most reasonable plan we have right now. Let's get to that, shall we?"

* * *

Last chapter, EnigMa arranged for Terra to revive the Magicryst and the Four Elemental Crystals of her world- resulting in the return of magic…

_**BOOM!**_

EnigMa was blasted out of the ground- shielding with a barrier made of blue aura… though the blowback still knocked the air out of him for a moment. He landed in relatively healthy field marred by a few broken pillars of land that resulted from the End of Balance.

Things weren't going well for him.

He landed in relatively healthy field marred by a few broken pillars of land that resulted from the End of Balance. The feral Esper flew after him- rapid-firing streams of flame from her claws (Fira). EnigMa drew out his orange-and-blue Keyblade and charged it with aura- swiftly swatting the balls away as he used the power his boss gave him to glide backwards through the air. Terra snarled angrily at the man and charged her claws with electricity and did a quick spin- two rounds of six lightning bolts converging on EnigMa (Thundara) that sent him airborne.

The hooded man that had helped orchestrate the reunions of the Warriors of Cosmos and coerced the return of magic… was powerless to stop her, _'**ing hell, ** hell, **ING HELL! I can't stop this woman without having to kill her, but I can't do that because A: I'm not allowed to and B: I really don't WANT to do that!'_

He did a quick glide to the right then left to avoid a dualcast Holy and found that he was soon to go from gliding to hovering as he inched closer to the ground. Terra sped up her flight and was only a few feet across from him in only three seconds- EnigMa getting a good look into her bloodshot red-violet eyes, _'She really has no control- just a raging beast… oh- THAT'S why she was avoiding the crystals… **_' She let out a roar and summoned a giant chunk of ice in front of her- launching it at the black-coated figure who had to put as much effort into holding up a barrier as had for Fire-Firaga chain that brought them to the surface.

Yet he couldn't block the six shards of ice from that attack that easily shattered the weakened barrier and sent the man flying away again with a grunt of pain. He did a flip when the hovering was interrupted to get him airborne again, _'Looks like I'll need to get more serious if I'm going to survive this…_'

Terra growled at EnigMa and crossed her arms- orange streams of magic momentarily spiraling around her before she fanned them out- several medium-sized orange non-elemental fireballs raining down at Enigma immediately afterwards. EnigMa let his Keyblade telekinetically float to his left side and charged up large sphere of aura the size of an orb of Terra's Meltdown between his palms, "_Rapid Aura Sphere!"_

The man shot out several smaller spheres in quick succession - destroying each meteorite before it could hit him. He seemed to be more at ease now that he was really using his powers to counter, "This all you got, ma'am!" He taunted, "Even a beast like the one you are at the moment should have more up her sleeves than this!"

This seemed to get a real reaction out of feral Esper, who snarled in fury- zooming right at him. She swiped at him with viciously with her claws only for them to be parried by the hooded man's Keyblade each time. Terra, seeing even in her mindless state that this wasn't working, spun at him with large shards of ice surrounding him that succeeded in knocking him off balance and letting her knock him left, right, and up only to repeat the process again. "Shit!" he cried when the feral Esper shot him with a Blizzara into the air while she hovered inches above the ground.

But this seemed to be a part of his plan, _'Just show me a little more power…'_ He thought to himself before using his Rapid Aura Sphere technique to blast the meteorites Terra sent his way again.

However, this left him open when Terra tackled him- her claws infused with fire magic tearing into him and piercing his coat-drawing some blood. He clenched his teeth at the pain before he was grabbed by the feral beast with those same claws and slammed into the ground. She tore off his hood to reveal the head hidden beneath. The man… well, teen, anyway, had dark-brown hair, dark brown eyes, and decently-tanned skin. His hair seemed spiked to the right at the bangs and his face looked somewhat boyish.

Traces of gravity energy surrounded Terra when she returned her foot-claws to the ground as she raised her claws- a large black and purple orb of that same energy forming above the dazed EnigMa. He flipped back to his feet, but didn't do before she thrust downwards and the fully formed orb of Graviga crushed him back into the ground- a second orb crushing immediately after the first faded.

When Terra streaked towards him with her right claw ready to strike again, however, EnigMa grabbed that wrist and caught the other one when she tried again- his Keyblade telekinetically floating to his right since his hands were full. He whispered into where he suspected her right ear was, "That's enough, Miss Branford…"He tossed the feral Esper into the air, "I'm sorry…_"_ He swung his Keyblade behind him, the Crystal Key's blade elongating into a light blue whip with a tip of orange energy, "I'll own up to doing this to you…"

Terra let out a cat-like yowl when the whip snapped at her and energy latched on. Wasting no time, EnigMa swung the whip with the berserk Esper attached several times with his Aura-fueled strength before slamming her into ground (he had considered aiming her at a pillar instead, but decided it would be too painful for her). Mewling slightly from the ground before it turned into an angry snort, Terra attempted to summon an even bigger chunk of ice to shoot at him but the brown-haired teen was faster-leaping high into air as a blue aura surrounded his body. He used that power to strike the feral Esper with a diving attack that made a column of aura on the ground when it hit for more damage that made Terra roar in pain and send her back into the air only to be struck again and again six times before EnigMa stopped, _"Aura Hour!"_

The black-coated teen would be lying if he said he didn't feel any regret for causing this much pain to her, but he knew it had to be done for her to get to normal. When the last blast of aura sent her upwards, EnigMa jumped after her and held the Crystal Key with both hands, "Nighty-night, Miss Branford…" He vanished with a flash of light for a second before appearing at Terra's right- hitting her left higher thigh before immediately vanishing again to appear right in front of her to strike her stomach. He showed up next behind her to kick her in the back with his left leg, then to her left side to swing downwards at her left shoulder, bellow her to it jab her in the right lower-thigh, and then just hit her all around the air using as much power as he could use in one attack like this, _"Aura Splicer!"_

He teleported so rapidly that it only took under a minute for him to finish his combo. He turned his Keyblade into a similar shape to the whip used earlier- but with the orange energy at the tip crystallized into a spiked ball and used it to whip her into the ground, _"Whiplash Strike!"_

When Terra landed, she was face down on the ground growling weakly at the brown-eyed teen. Letting his guard down some, he allowed some pain to leak into his expression- wincing at Terra's state. She looked like a wounded animal- desperate to strike its attacker but lacking the energy to doing so.

It wounded him to see a person he had seen be so kind to others in his surveillance- even if it DID apparently miss some key information- reduced to this, so he let himself turn away from her for a sec, muttering to himself, "I'm going to need to have a serious Q&A session with the boss about this once I've taken care of… whatever this beast she turned into is and get her back to normal."

However, the feral Esper was FAR from finished. Its power spiked and a whitish-green healing magic wisped around her as she rose once more. Mike looked around and saw an outright PISSED Esper glare at him with fury for his attacks earlier. Her bestial growls were much louder and even fiercer than before- her Esper form's power overload-induced feral rage was now supplemented with real rage even if it was still feral and mindless.

The berserk lavender-colored Esper's aura was visible once-more and was a hot-pink that sparked with intensity close to that which had erupted moments before her transformation from a gentle maiden into a raging monster. It was done warming up and intended to destroy the boy with prejudice.

'_That can't be good…'_

* * *

As the last barriers separating the worlds dissipated, the mist barriers that still existed between began it fade… with a flash of something a certain blond-haired Not-SOLDIER was all too familiar with…

It was nighttime as Cloud and company were almost to this ruined town that appeared on the GPS of Shelke's phone. Barret had fallen asleep with Tifa now manning the wheel. Denzel and Marlene were also conked out. Shelke was in a Zen-sleep- getting rested but still aware enough of her surroundings to act if necessary (having spent most of your life in an organization of homicidal maniacs can make you more than a little paranoid). It took convincing to make her rest after 20 hours, but she eventually complied.

Cloud himself had gotten up after a rest himself an hour ago- having taken his motorcycle and napped in the trunk. It… wasn't the most comfortable of experiences, but it worked for him. Now he was up and at them.

Cloud's eyes darted to the stars above- wondering if they were still the same as the last time he looked, _'It seems every time I look up- something in the sky has changed. Earlier, I could have sworn the sun was setting when it was actually still rising the next time I looked up minutes later…'_

He pondered that more for a second, _'Not to mention that odd Red Moon that's shown up once or twice…'_ The not-SOLDIER shook his head at that, _'I really hope I'm not having head issues _again_… what would this be- the second time, or the third time?'_

Unbeknownst to Cloud, he wasn't the only one seeing things.

As she was driving, Tifa had started noticing the same random changes in the sky. The red-eyed Bar Hostess kept most of her attention on the road, but when she looked up it was hard for her not to notice how the moon changed from a half-Moon to full moon to Crescent Moon in a matter of minutes.

'_None of the others seem to see anything unusual… I really hope I'm not going mad like Cloud did during the Meteor Incident. This is the last thing I need if I want to renew my relationship with him one day…'_

Still, despite their uneasiness nothing seemed to be out of the usual… until they came across the Mist Barrier that was so thick they wouldn't be able to see anything if they went inside.

Cloud stopped first- Tifa doing so a yard ahead of him right at the edge of the mist. She got out along with Shelke, who woke at the halt of movement and followed suit. Cloud got off the cycle and went to the barrier- Tifa and Shelke joining to the left and right of him respectively.

Shelke looked at the phenomenon with a puzzled expression, "Nothing I researched for this map would suggest this is a normal weather condition. I'd be cautious if I were you."

Tifa slowly reached her hand into the mist- getting an mildly annoyed look from the former Tsivet but ignored her, "It's cool… but also warm. It doesn't seem harmful…"

Cloud eye's seemed hesitant at the sight, "I feel something off about this thing… It feels 'wrong'. Not 'bad', but… not normal."

"Huh… sounds like something Aerith would have told us…" Tifa mused, turning to her childhood friend, "When did you get so in tune with things like this?"

Cloud stayed silent at that- not sure how to answer that. He thought to himself, _'If I told the truth, I'm not sure how Tifa would react if she knew I was seeing Aerith almost weekly from the Lifestream. Well, not 'seeing' her, but still… While it would answer that question as to how, one thing I learned from the Geostigma outbreak was that Tifa does have a bit of a jealous side that I have no interest in pushing.'_

Unable to think of anything else, he simply dodged with, "Would you really be surprised after the crap I've been through?"

Tifa mulled that over and shrugged, "Good point."

"That reminds me of a report…" the 20-year old woman in a 10-year old girl's body mused to herself- getting the attention of her companions. She turned to the blond-haired man and the brunette, "An old theory stated-"

Before Shelke could even get into the meat of what she was going to explain, a slight fizzing sound came from the mist and grabbed their attention. Holes were starting to show up in the upper parts of the barrier; though this meant they still couldn't quite see what was ahead yet. The three of them watched as more and more of the barrier dissolved like the fizz of a carbonated beverage.

Just in case, Cloud walked over and retrieved the Fusion Swords from their compartments and combined then before rejoining the others. Tifa put on her fighting gloves and Shelke grabbed the handles or her beam sabers located in their containers strapped on her thighs by black straps of Velcro. It didn't seem that it would be needed though as light could be seen leaking in from the mist…

…Until a tremor rocked the earth near them- gentle enough not to disturb the slumber of Barret, Marlene, and Denzel but enough to put Cloud, Tifa, and Shelke on the alert.

Cloud closed his eyes and concentrated on the flow of the quakes, _'Alright- remember what Aerith's been teaching you from the Lifestream, Cloud. Even if you can't connect to Gaia directly like the Cetra, you can still feel the direction these disturbances are moving if you clear your head…'_

Waiting for a few more minutes Cloud focused the vibrations- focusing on their movements…

…When he realized where they were going- Cloud's eyes widened in horror, "Damn it!"

When the girls turned to him, Cloud ran back several meters from where they were standing and then rushed all the way backing in the direction of the truck.

Barret grunted awake when he felt a large "Thunk!" from the back of the truck. Turning around, he roared in surprise when he found Cloud slamming the trunk with the flat side of the Fusion Swords, "What the hel-heck are you doing , SPIKES?!" Barret yelled at him- correcting himself when he saw Marlene and Denzel wake up from another slam from Cloud.

Outside, Tifa and Shelke saw Cloud try to push the car through the mist as fast as he could through the slamming. Tifa was about to ask why he was doing that when the answer became apparent.

Far, far in the distance, a steam of green-white light was pulsing in a line a 5 meters wide- blazing through the earth and leaving a massive crevice before disappearing and the earth closing back up with it.

And the truck with Barret, Marlene, and Denzel inside was right between this divide and would be coming in only a minute. Thanks to Cloud, the truck was only a few feet away from crossing the middle of the divide to safety, but if the not-SOLDIER didn't act fast it and its passengers would be at the mercy of the Mako Springs.

With one final push, Cloud slammed the truck completely out of the way with a small relieved grin…

"_CLOUD!"_

…Which was replaced with a grimace as the Mako finally made its way over- blinding him in its light…

* * *

Locke and Celes had cleared the woods when Celes suddenly paused- eyes widened in alarm.

The pale-brown haired man stopped with her, turning to face her. It was rare for her to let emotions show in a tense situation, so the fact that worry and a bit of fear were on her visage now was not a good sign. Celes turned to him, "Did you feel that?"

"I can't say I did… what's the matter?"

Celes grimaced, "A torrent of magical power just passed me by… it was unmistakably Terra, but I've only felt some remotely close to this level of power once…"

That didn't bode well. Locke hesitantly asked, "It wouldn't happen to be like when she first transformed, would it?"

She nodded, "Not simply that… I've always felt like there may have been more power than we had ever known within Terra, but my senses magic-wise can barely lift a candle to hers. Her powers felt weaker than a normal Esper beyond that one time, but now whatever was holding that strength back is in danger of breaking…"

Locke's eyes widened in horror, "You aren't saying-?!"

"Terra could be just as strong as the toughest of Espers out there at her full potential- maybe even stronger. And that power has room to grow as she continues to use her magic." Celes cut him off- answering his unfinished question, "We need to mind our distance now more than ever."

The two heard something in the wide-open fields and already saw evidence of some of EnigMa and Terra's battle through scorch-marks and small craters littering it. Further out, they could vaguely make out the glow of the feral Esper and that of a black-coated figure in the distance…

* * *

Terra continued the fight in earnest- starting with rapid-firing medium-sized fireballs at the teen. EnigMa went back to his previous stratagem of shooting aura spheres at the orbs to destroy them but the orbs were too powerful- knocking his projectiles away and forcing him to zip around the field to avoid being hit.

Taking a moment to observe the battlefield before the Esper could decimate him again, he noticed that the plains were already marred by craters and scorch marks from the previous round, _'We already did that much damage? Shit… and she's even more powerful now. This area is going to be a wasteland by the time this is done.'_

EnigMa flipped out of the way to avoid getting hit by a huge chunk of ice (still Blizzara) Terra shot at him from her palms while he was thinking to himself- noting that it was perhaps double the size of what it was in the last fight before he did another flip to dodge a second spike. In mid-flip, however, Terra rained an entire storm of slightly smaller icicles that all hit him dead-on in the chest.

With no time to properly recover, he only barely rolled out of the wave of a jet of flame rolling across the ground to intercept him. As she fired fireball after fireball at him- EnigMa knew he'd have to unleash more of his own power. His brown eyes flashed blue and an orange aura with blue outlining erupted from the teen.

With more power in his hands, he began charging a large orb of aura of the same color-scheme in his hands and grunted out, "I admit I renamed this one-" He avoided a large Blizzara spike aimed at him and the orb reached to half his size, "-But I consider this name I found-" He dodged a blast of fire aimed at him- the ball's glow now exactly his size, "-Much more fitting than Aura Storm: _Aura CANNON!"_

EnigMa then fired the orb as a large, concentrated beam of orange and blue aura that easily cut through a charged-up Flare fireball (bigger than that used in Holy Combo) from Terra and knocking the Half-Esper miles across the plains.

The feral Esper stumbled back to her clawed feet and snarled in a crouched, all-fours stance. EnigMa frowned, "You're a tough one, aren't you…" He noticed that the she hadn't healed the cuts he'd left from previous attacks in her power-fueled rage… or at least, not fully, "Looks like you haven't had time to lick your wounds. I'll make this quick." He rushed at her- spinning his keyblade around in a windmill-like fashion in front of him with aura infused into the blade, _"Aura Windmill!"_

Terra saw EnigMa with the aura in his keyblade making him look like a huge fireball. Snorting, she flung out her clawed hand and wisps of hot-pink energy formed four crescent-shaped blades of energy that were launched at the teen. They broke through his attack with ease and sent him flying backwards- significantly staggered- a pain-filled scream of "SHIT!" barely heard by the scream of the impact.

Not allowing her foe have any time to recover, she after him with a roar. Terra whipped out another series of blades of pure magical Esper energy at him that landed a tear on the back of his coat. He tried to shield himself from the next round of blades with an aura barrier, but while he did succeed they still broke and left him vulnerable to the next wave that hit through his left shoulder- leaving that arm powerless.

EnigMa was in too much pain to scream after that last hit dislocated that left limb and had to use sheer will to get snag an elixir from his bag and pour it on it before the feral Esper tackled him to the ground. As both of their auras dimmed (EnigMa because he couldn't focus and Terra because it wasn't needed at the moment) he looked at the her bloodshot violet-red eyes in panic.

'_...Is this the end? All that power I was given, and I'm not even able to focus enough to use it to shield me…'_

As he thought that, Terra's claws tore into his face and left his vision clouded by the blood that flowed out, _'At least she didn't hit my nose or eyes…'_

She grabbed his right arm and slammed him into the ground repeatedly- EnigMa only able to grunt in response. He could barely register the level of pain he was in. She clawed his back and tore new wounds into it that weren't even able to get any reaction from him anymore. Just when it looked like it was the end for him, though, the feral Esper did something that would give him a disturbing sense of calm. Terra grabbed EnigMa's right arm- her clawed left foot digging into his stomach and…

…ripped it right off. The teen gaped at the bloody stump that was left in shock.

His weakly pointed his remaining arm at the stump and turned his shocked gaze from the removed arm to Terra- giving her the "I can't believe you just ripped off my arm!" look.

The feral beast simply took the opportunity to lick the blood off her claws with a content expression- making EnigMa cringed at the sight. She switched gears every few seconds to lick her wounds- whitish-green cure magic laced in the Esper's tongue to both clean and heal the injuries EnigMa was able to dish out.

EnigMa's vision almost blacked-out for good until he felt a warm light surrounding him ready to be used even if he couldn't see it himself.

He instinctively reached out to it and his coat let off a subtle glow not even Terra could sense (partially because she still busy licking the blood off herself). His body convulsed in searing pain as the cloth that was with his dismembered limb started vanishing- taking his right arm with it. His brown eyes widened as he felt something from the stump and turned around to see his arm miraculously (and painfully) growing back. After a minute, everything seemed to snap back in place though the returned limb was still bloody and sore beyond belief.

However, with the dimming of pain came the soaring of burning rage.

EnigMa's aura returned in full-force- but the orange had become a bright red and the blue purple. He shot into the air- snapping the feral Esper out of her almost finished cleaning/healing session.

For the first time in the story, EnigMa was genuinely _angry_- not just mildly annoyed or irritated. His brown eyes went crimson red as the aura surrounding him intensified. It was clear he was still horribly wounded, but he seemed to be moving by sheer force of power he was displaying. An unsettling smile found itself on the brown-haired young man's face as he calmly commented, "You ripped off my arm… it got better, but you ripped off my arm."

When Terra tried to strike the empowered agent, he summoned an orb of aura above him that fired a fully-charged Aura Cannon at her that she tried to leap away from only to be blown back by the explosive impact.

His smile changed into an enraged grimace as he screamed, **"You BITCH! **_**You haven't just crossed the line…"**_ He summoned two orbs at either side of him that fired even more Aura Cannons. The Esper leapt out of the way to the right when the left cannon fired and flew at the teen before she could fall into the next one.

Terra charged at him with a bestial roar, only for the EnigMa to block her with his Keyblade at the last moment when she tried to tear into his face again with the claws on her right hand charged with fire magic. He when she tried again with the left claws, he grabbed her wrist with his own left hand and tossed her higher into the air. He turned the Crystal Key into a whip again and snagged her left ankle.

He glared at the Esper emotionlessly as he continued,_** "…You **ing tap-danced and pissed on it!"**_ He charged the whip with his currently red-and-purple aura and made her let out a pained snort before sending her cannoning straight-through one of the rubble pillars. Terra slowly crawled back up to growl and glare at the insane teen.

At this point, it was evident the feral Terra had hit some sort of button with him that overruled his previous reluctance to truly hurt and kill- he completely lost his **ing mind…

EnigMa wasted no time and teleported to the nearest ruin pillar a mile or two and turned his Crystal Key back to blade form. Three giant aura orbs formed around him as he spun his keyblade in front of him until it reached such a speed that it only looked like an orange and blue disc. As the injured Terra flew at him again the orbs converged into the "disc" and made it expand to twice its wielders size, _"_**Eat death: **_**AURA STORM!"**_

The beam that fired rivaled that of even the Cloud of Darkness's Ultra Particle Beam and Omega's Wave Cannon as it zoomed to the very edge of the wilds- decimating any hills or pillars in its five-mile path. The feral Esper knew it hitting her was bad even in her current state of mind, but the red-and-purple beam of fiery aura seemed to try to absorb her into it.

As she nearly fell into it- her senses felt the burn it was placing on her body's aura and took action. Her Esper powers spiked to the point it made her look like a flaming comet as she simply _spiraled_ around the beam- using its force to make her fly towards her foe even faster.

The boy merely smirked at the power she was displaying and dismissed the beam when she- causing the feral Esper to snort in confusion as she dropped a few meters to the ground due to loss of momentum.

He snapped his fingers and the base of the three-story pillar he was standing on blew apart. Using all of his aura-fuelled strength, he grabbed the giant pillar and swung at her to the left. He laughed wildly, _**"Let's PLAY BALL!"**_

Terra's cat-like eyes widened in shock as it came at her…

… before they narrowed in a wild glare. Just as the pillar was going to hit her, the feral Esper dug her claws into the pillar and swung it and its original holder away behind her. EnigMa's eyes widened in surprise- the red fading back to the usual brown, _'Wait- what the ** just happened?!'_

In a loud, feral, bestial roar of power, her magical Esper energy violently sparked around her. She crossed her arms and fired thirteen crescent blades of hot-pink energy that tore through the pillar into bits before they made contact with EnigMa…

'_Oh… shit…'_

The crescent waves struck his chest as one in a blinding red light- a storm of nearly a hundred spilt from the point of impact that seemed to tear his very soul apart as the blades tore apart the landscape. They hit the ground and exploded; left small gashes in the earth; and cut pillars apart.

The feral Esper, the amount of power she had access to spent, gently lower herself to the ground before promptly passing out.

Mere moments later, EnigMa joined her as he crashed far less gracefully next to her as an unconscious, bruised, beaten, bloody mess.

His coat was fading away into crystals of light that revealed his attire underneath. He wore a sleeveless orange hoodie (thought there were well concealed zippers around those areas the indicated they could be put back on) that had a couple pockets, a black shirt, and navy-blue pants with similar zippers to the ones on his hoodie indicating a similar function to them.

* * *

'…_What….'_

Several minutes after the fight, EnigMa slowly stirred back to consciousness, "Ugh…."

He tried to move his left hand to his forehead- but grit his teeth when he felt pain from trying to stimulate the muscles of his left arm, _'Oh, right… the fight… how did that go again?_' He tried willing his other limbs to work, but found that they were all broken as well, _'Clearly- not well for me…_'

He opened his dark brown eyes and found his vision a bit blurry after the fight, but was able to make out a pale-blond, lavender-eyed young woman a few feet away from him. He blinked his eyes a few times to clear things up more and remembered the events of the battle, _'Right… Miss Branford went berserk and ripped off my right arm in that beast form; which made me lose my shit in kind…'_

It seemed she was alright- granted, she seemed to have some bruises and cuts on her form as well, but nothing seemed too broken. She was healing well, _'Given she definitely isn't human after what I saw, that isn't entirely unexpected.'_

EnigMa slowly raised his head (noting to himself to watch the concussion he was able to feel now) and examined the state he was in, _'Let's see… at least left arm broken: check; broken legs: check; concussion: check; clothes: coat is gone and my pants and shirt have several cuts and burns, and blood stains. Add massive blood loss (the sight of her licking my blood off her claws is scarred into my mind now), and my state can be described as hell… I suppose I should be thankful my nerves seemed to have either been damaged or automatically turned off because then I'd been in a whole new definition of hurt…'_

He slowly turned right at his right arm… he was hesitant to do anything with it after what happened, but tried anyway.

Luckily, that arm was mostly undamaged- raw from being re-grown, but functional, _'Thank you, boss… still going to grill you for holding important information back, but thank you boss."_

He used his right arm and felt along his right pockets but cursed when he felt only two bottles in his space-magic infused pants-pockets, _'Shit! My stores of Megalixirs… I must have left them in the coat….'_

Enigma gripped both bottles between his fingers and saw the labels on them, _'A Hi Potion and an Elixir…'_ he quickly poured the contents of the Hi Potion into his mouth- wincing at the rather unpleasant taste and the pain he felt trying to swallow. The teen grunted as the potion did its magic and to slowly seal up the wounds.

The fluids worked by adapting themselves to the user's body and adopting the genetic structure of the body so as to repair lost tissue. Gashed and cuts could either be sealed up or healed if you give in a few minutes and pain would be dulled. Potions and elixirs both had limits as to what they could heal- if a vital organ was damaged you'd be unlikely to survive no matter how many potions you poured on it. Bones needed more time to heal on their own; magic was much more effective with those kinds of injures.

Once the pains of healing settled he looked again and found that, while he'd still need more professional medical attention, he wouldn't die here.

As EnigMa nabbed the elixir and was about to gulp it down before he took another look at Terra…

'_This is more than likely just guilt talking…'_ He contemplated, _'But she somehow seems… worse than before…'_

She still had bruises from when he flung her into that pillar and she'd be plenty sore in morning. He didn't succeed in breaking anything when she set off his "Hyper Mode" (thankfully) and what injuries she had could be mended easily with a potion or two or magic… yet he had a nagging thought on his head that made him feel more guilt than he honestly did already:

'_Why does she remind me of _her?' He paused for second before shaking his head, '_No- not the same _her_ I'm going to skin the dragon for; she was like a little sister… she isn't Sarah either. The one I'm thinking of was like a big sister… who was it?'_

EnigMa gave it a moments more thought before shrugging it off, _'I'm sure there's a reason for it. That doesn't matter here. I'm the jackass that went and faked kidnapping one of her kids and pressured her into bringing out a power she didn't want. This is my mess, so I have to be the one to clean it up.'_

He reached up to her and found he was able to pour the contents of the elixir into her throat, "Bottoms up… Miss Branford…."

Seeing her unconsciously gulp it down, he nodded and let himself fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Any sign of her, yet?"

As she asked this, Celes's eyes paid attention to the battle-scarred landscape trying to find some sort of trail in the chaos that would lead them to Terra. The flashes of magic and aura that had been leading them had stopped just a moment ago, so they were on their own. Honestly, Celes was worried for the safety of the friend she cared for like a sister after seeing the damage wrought.

As such, she was relying on Locke's expertise as a "Treasure Hunter" to determine their location. His eyes were trained to find the smallest detail that could help him recover a treasure, pick a lock, to find a secret passageway.

"Hrm…" Locke's gaze examined anything that could be close to a pattern. After a couple minutes, that there were a few hills and trees that may have cut through given the trees had all fallen the same way. This destruction still seemed fresh given the energy was only now almost gone. He turned to Celes, who was focused on the damaged plains before them, "Celes?"

"This could have been much worse…" Celes noted, pointing out particular areas of damage, "Behind us, it may look like things were blown apart, but the craters here are mostly small and the scorch marks aren't that deep either..." She pointed to up ahead of them, "But as you get further, you can tell more power was being unlocked inside of her because as you get farther out everything just gets worse…"

Locke winced as the two of them began walking along the trail, "And you said this may be only a part of her full potential, right?"

Celes nodded- face frozen into a neutral expression, "It appears so… and if she still can't control her powers when they all come to her, I dread what might have to be done."

There was nothing more either was willing to say on the topic. As heartless as it may have sounded to him, Locke knew that was just as hard for her to say as it was for him to listen to her doing so. It wasn't exactly a secret that when Terra lost control, the results were never pretty. But even then- they thought Terra couldn't be as strong as a normal Esper, so even considering killing her for everyone else's safety was unnecessary. Now, though, since it was clear that she only had access to only maybe a third of her full power back then…

Locke shook his head to clear it of such unpleasant thoughts, "Let's hope Terra's father put seals on her power to limit that, shall we?"

"I couldn't agree more."

A few minutes later, they found saw what seemed to be Terra and a kid dressed in orange and blue laying a foot or two away from each other. Seeing this, the couple dashed towards their friend and the mystery figure they assumed was the fake-kidnapper with Locke in the lead.

When they were only half a mile away, they could tell the fake-kidnapper was surprisingly only a teenager. What a teenager was doing playing them like that, they weren't sure. When the two noticed him making Terra drink something, Celes increased her speed to moving ahead of Locke and slid down to the right of Terra- examining the bottle the teen had fed her.

Locke crouched down to the right of the Half-Esper, concern evident in his tone, "Is she alright?"

Celes nodded affirmative… but her brow was furrowed in confusion, "She is… it seems our little friend her gave her an Elixir. Terra will be just fine…" The two turning to the formerly cloaked young man, they flinched at the sight, "Though it seems he didn't give nearly as much priority to treating himself."

"What should we do about him?"

"Keep the boy alive for now… when Terra wakes up, it will be her call to make."

* * *

For seven years, Mount Ordeals has been home to a new, living resident who has survived the daily assaults by the undead hordes who also call it home with little difficulty. Having arrived following the events of the Lunar War, this purple-armored dragoon came here in self-exile to find atonement for the actions he committed under Golbez's enthrall (who himself was under the control of the evil lunarian Zemus).

However, that isn't to say he never leaves the mountain… though only because noting on it can provide any sort of nourishment.

It was during one of his routine hunts in the surrounding forests that Kain mother**ing Highwind became aware of the game-changing events that were sure to come.

Kain eyed the flock of seven Cockatrice, blue birds about that reach up to your average toddler, that were circling around him- getting ready to dive-bomb the him. The dragoon had fought several of them for the past seven years and knew their pattern well.

'_First, they fly high above their prey/attacker so they aren't within its range. They then circle above it to aim their dive…'_

The cockatrice then dived at Kain simultaneously- their sharp becks ready to pierce his armor and tear at his flesh. As quickly as they came, though, they met their deaths at the end of his lance. He stabbed each of the birds with quick movements and expert precision- charging his lance with the Wind elemental magic he had learned during his stay to expand his range.

Whether by winds or metal, they didn't last long and each let out a squawk of pain as their necks were impaled- blood flowing from the holes it left. Kain then examined each carcass of each bird, "Let's see… to thin, too old, too thin, seems to have been suffering from disease, ditto…"

He grabbed the last two cockatrice, relatively plump and meaty, by their legs and allowed the blood to keep dropping. He gave a small nod to himself in approval, "You two should do nicely…"

Kain turned back to Mount Ordeals. He had only ventured about a mile from the base where the birds flew by the closest to his chosen residence, "Now then; back my ongoing penance …"

Half a mile of walking later, his kill had bled out completely and he was getting close to home. He heard an ear-piercing screech behind him and saw much greater threat than cockatrice draw near…

A giant dragon-like black bird regarded as one of the biggest threats among the monsters near Mysidia: the dreaded Zu.

Kain drew his lance once more, but paused when it suddenly flew away from his direction instead. Kain raised an eyebrow at this, _'This isn't normal behavior… Zu tend to fight their targets to the death- what could have scared it off?'_

He asked, and thus he received when he turned around: A giant wave of white energy then expanded in his direction- giving him cause to gasp in shock.

As it passed over Mount Ordeals Kain braced himself for its coming. It didn't take long for it to pass over him. It felt like a breeze both hot and cold as its light blinded him- forcing him to close his eyes. When he opened his blue orbs once more, he noticed something was wrong with the mountain…

…Namely, what appeared to be a small citadel made of gray stone with two taller towers attached to its right and left sides was now barely fitting at its new summit.

"What the hell just happened to my mountain?!"

* * *

**And without any further to do, Kain has arrived! Doesn't look like he'll be doing anything incredibly plot relevant for now... but he's here. **

**That flashback with Rydia and Ceodore is finally over and EnigMa's coat has been torn to shreds. I didn't exactly try very hard to hide it- that little guy in Chapter 7 being a dead giveaway, but I'd imagine most wouldn't expect to show up the way he did. We still don't have his name, but poke around my other stories and you'll see the answer. **

**Regarding _The Misadventures of Mike and Mew_ and _Kingdom Hearts N-Side_, they'll be getting more attention once Chapter 13 of this story has been reached the crossover between The Unknowing Herald and I is completed (which won't be until after Chapter 13 is done).**

**P.S. If anyone can tell me what the temple that has remodeled the peak of Mount Ordeals is, you get 13 cookies. Guess wrong and you get -13 cookies.**

**Be sure to review! Criticism is appreciated so long as it is constructive.**


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